Why Papa has to be
by chidoriochibi
Summary: Updated! A Sakunocentric fics. TezuSaku, FujiSaku X'mas version! KiriSaku oneshots. Contains multi pairings. Not good with summary. Please read and find out! Thanks! Chp 5 Edited: 22/9/08
1. Why Papa has to be Tezuka Kunimitsu

A/N: Konnichipuu Minna-san? I didn't know what came into me. Just feel like writing another Sakuno-centric fics. This is my first attempt on pairing up Tezuka and Sakuno. So please be patience with me.

This fics is dedicated to all Sakuno's lover. They will be more pairing coming up. In fact I'm taking this concept to write Sakuno's drabbles. So please do expect more pairing coming up.

Warning: Sakuno centric. Please do not continue if you are not fans of Sakuno-chan. Readers have been warned.

**Standard Disclaimer: I'll probably be traveling around the world by now if I owned Tenipuri. Nope, definitely not mine, all the characters belongs to Konomi Sensei except, except, Kunihoshi & Kunizuki.**

"…" denotes speech

'…' denotes thoughts

_Italics _denotes flashbacks

**Bold** denotes Song lyrics

Song title: Hikari no Saki by Tezuka Kunimitsu

* * *

**Title: Why Papa has to be…**

Chapter 1: Tezuka Kunimitsu?

It's been ten long years since Ryuzaki Sakuno had married to Tezuka Kunimitsu, the renowned National Treasure of Japan and the President of Japan National Tennis Association.

To everyone's surprise, the well-known Tennis Star had ended up tying a knot with their former coach's granddaughter, the diffident, soft-spoken and wobbly, Sakuno. Their wedding was held in one of Eastern Kyoto's most traditional and purify temple, Chion-in.

Many of their friends as well as teammates concluded that their marriage wouldn't last long, since Tezuka is a man who speaks less then 20 sentences a day with his renowned libretto "Don't let your guard down" vice-versa, Sakuno also has an introverted nature who is too shy to carry herself well; such relationship would definitely fail due to lack of understanding, yet as friends as well as team, there is always a mutual respect in each other's decisions.

Once again the supposed to be mismatched couple had taken their friends by surprise when their marriage turns out perfectly right and it also proves that they are meant for each other.

While Tezuka pursue his dreams and ambition, Sakuno has always been supportive as a role of a wife as well as a mother. After two years of marriage, she bore to Tezuka a pair of adorable twins, Tezuka Kunihoshi, a boy that resembles the father and Tezuka Kunizuki, a girl that resembles the look of her mother.

* * *

As time flies, the twins are now in their fourth grade in Seishun Elementary School (Seishun Gakkuen).

Just when Sakuno was happily preparing lunch for her beloved family, she heard her two children bickering with each other.

She shook her head, switching off the stove; she enters the hall where the screaming and wailing could be heard.

"Hoshi, Zuki!" Sakuno said sternly, yet, that doesn't stop the two from biting each other's bones.

"Hoshi…stop teasing your sister" Just when Sakuno wanted to walk over to stop them, Tezuka entered the hall and stares impassively at his two defiant children.

"Both of you, ten laps around the house" Tezuka said sternly.

As soon as they heard the familiar voice, they jerked away and quickly hide behind their mother's back.

Sakuno sweat drop, but she knew her husband's attitude well. Reluctantly she steps aside, letting her husband to do the disciplining.

"Hora, Hoshi…Zuki…" She looks at her two children benevolently as she speaks "That's the punishment for breaking the bond between the two of you"

"But…but, it wasn't my fault…" Zuki reasoned and the two threw teary eyes at her mother to earn her sympathy.

Hearing his daughter's retaliation, Tezuka walks a few steps towards the children. He has been patience enough with the two.

"Twenty laps and hit it now and Sakuno…"

"Hai…" Sakuno shrugged as she replies 'Is he gonna ask me to run around the house too?' she thought anxiously.

"No lunch to be served to the two if they have not completed their punishment"

"Hai" Sakuno nodded and watched her husband turn and walk back to the study.

"Mama!" Hoshi instantly protested "How could you be so submissive. Papa's being unreasonable"

"Hora" Sakuno smiled again "It's only twenty laps right? I know that both of you should be fine with it. Come on, let's hit it before your father changes his mind again"

"Papa is a demon!"

"Imp"

"Fiend"

"30 laps!" an angry voice bellowed from the study.

Reluctantly, the two had left with no other choice but to comply to serve their punishment.

Before Sakuno go back to resume her chores, Sakuno let out a soft chuckle as she envisioned her husband furious face when he heard their kids calling him names 'He's taking their words seriously afterall'

* * *

The kids and their father had been having cold wars right after they served their punishment. Neither one of them had said a word nor Sakuno doing so. She just let them had their own way. Sooner or later, they'll just resume their normal self again.

Sometimes the kids really doubted their mom's decision of marrying to such abusive man. Their mother is such an adorable and kind woman, though, she might be wobbly sometimes, yet, she's such a wonderful person, that everyone would love her dearly.

'He must have forced her into a shotgun marriage' the two thought in unison.

Though the two are still in elementary grade, they are unpredictably knowledgeable like other kids all around the world; as the world advances.

Just when their father had left the house for an urgent meeting, the two adorable trifling children, take this opportunity to ease their curiosity.

"Ne…ne, mama?" Zuki begin. She has such a sweet and innocent voice that when everyone hear her words would instantly turns into jelly :P

"Yes, what is it sweetie?" Sakuno answered but her attention is still on the bowl of flour which she's now kneading. Just when she was about to pour some sugar into the mixture, Zuki continued "Did papa force you to marry him?"

Sakuno gets a shock of her life. The 'some' sugar that she was suppose to pour into to the mixture, soon turns into a peak.

"Mama!" Hoshi called out "The sugar!"

"Ah!" unable to regain her composure, the woman had not only messed up the mixture, but also knocked down some of her dinning wares that were placed next to the sink. With just few wobbly actions, Sakuno was able to turn the kitchen into an after war clutter.

Both Hoshi and Zuki sweat drop upon witnessing her mom's wobbliness.

"I'm so useless…" Sakuno sighed pathetically. With teary eyes, Sakuno had to clean up the whole mess before her husband comes back from meetings.

Right after she is done, Sakuno called her two children to enter the kitchen "Hoshi, Zuki…we need to talk"

"Hai!" the two quickly dashed into the kitchen upon hearing their mom's calling.

"So where were we?" Sakuno tug a hand under her chin and eyed the two young Tezukas with slight amusement.

"Eto…mama, why are you not mad at us?" before Zuki continue, she asked softly, feeling a little guilty of suddenly giving her mother some unnecessary trouble.

Sakuno raised a brow "Why should I?"

"Coz we scared you" the twins said in unison. "Mom, we're sorry. Please don't tell papa about it"

The hazel haired woman let out a soft chuckle "So both of you are not actually concerned about getting me into trouble, but was worried that I might tell you papa that the two of you had given me some difficulty?"

"No…no" Hoshi interrupted "We don't really mean to scare you like that, since we thought that we only wanted to know why you were married to papa and why he has to be our papa?"

"Don't worry, let's keep this a secret between the three of us, since I don't want to be punished by your papa too…" this time Sakuno winked at her two children.

"Promise?" Two pairs of eyes glittered with hope upon hearing what their mom said.

"Promise" Sakuno replied cheerfully.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"We need to think of a strategy to improve their skills otherwi…ha…ha…chu…" Tezuka immediately tilted sideward and covered his mouth with a piece of hanky as he sneezed. The group stared at their president with slight astonishment. "Excuse me"

"Oh, Tezuka only sneezed once? Someone is thinking of you" Fuji teased "Could it be our cute little Sakuno-chan?"

"Fuji" Tezuka turn and eyed his vice president irritably "She's not 'our' cute little Sakuno-chan. She's my wife"

"Hai hai…" Fuji chuckles and the rest of them laugh upon hearing Tezuka's fuming mixed with slight possessiveness.

* * *

Back to Tezuka residence…

"By the way, what makes both of you think that I was forced to marry your papa?" Sakuno asked curiously.

"That's because…that's because…" Zuki lowered her head as she was unable to pour her heart out whenever she gets nervous. She even starts to play with her fingers if her nervousness is out of control.

"He's mean" Hoshi interjected "He seldom smiles and he talks less than 20 sentences a day" Being a boy, Hoshi is a little too outspoken, and that also doubted many friends if he's really Tezuka's son.

"Really?" Sakuno raises her brow as she mused "Do you really count?"

"I did count" Hoshi said.

"Right…because mama is always smiling but papa is so different" still unable to look at her mother, the little girl murmured softly, but that was good enough for Sakuno to hear her.

"Well" this time Sakuno poked a finger beneath her chin and started to ponder why she had married Tezuka "That's because mama likes papa the way he is"

**

* * *

The Past…**

"Hey, why don't you just come with us? We can show you lots of fun, you know?" one young man said viciously, while the other man pulled her on one of her braids.

"Let go…" she squeaked softly as her body was trembling with fear "Please…"

"Oh? Did you hear that? The cutie is begging us? She's so cute" just when the perverted guy is about to touch Sakuno's face, a ball flies over and hit straight onto his face with great force. The man loses his grip on Sakuno when he fell flat onto the ground, unconscious.

The other man was shock to see or even believe that the intensity of the tennis ball could cause his friend to lose his consciousness.

Just when he had decided to take revenge for his friend, he saw a man with stern looking face, glaring furiously at him. His dead glares caused the man to retreat from his earlier decision.

"I…I'll remember this" with that he pulled his unconscious friend and leave the place.

Terrified by such dreadful incident, Sakuno was unable to stop herself from trembling.

"Ryuzaki!" the familiar voice called from behind. She recognizes his voice, the usual stern voice of the formal Seigaku Captain, now the national seeded player, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

As soon as Tezuka stood in front of her, Sakuno raised her head and stare anxiously at her former senior "Tezu…ka…san"

"Daijyobu?" He asked as he helped the frightening young lady to stand on her feet.

"I…I'm fine…" Sakuno stammered and tightens her grip on his hand.

"Why are you here at this time? Don't you know that it's dangerous for a girl to stay out late at night?"

"Gomen…nasai" Sakuno sniffed, biting hard to suppress her tears from falling.

"Er…" Suddenly Tezuka realized that he's been a little harsh towards the girl, moreover, she had not been fully recovered from the initial shock. "No…I mean, sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice…"

"Come on…let me send you back home"

"Arigatou…"

"Can you walk?"

"I think I sprained my ankle" She said softly "but…I can manage"

"Let me carry you…"

"No…I mean…" Sakuno blushed "I'm quite weighty…"

Tezuka raised his brow and studied the young lady in front of him. Little had he notice that Sakuno has grown up into a promising beauty, her features still reserves a little of her childlike look, without those baby fats on her face. She has a great figure with curves that would definitely make many men drool.

'A young lady like this could easily get into trouble' Tezuka noted inwardly 'She's beautiful…wait! Where does this come from? What was I thinking?'

Tezuka immediately shoved off his perplexing thoughts and offered her a baggy ride. She shook her head once again only to get another stern glare from the former senior.

"Sorry for the trouble again…" She said shyly.

"Ryuzaki…" they have been walking in silence for quite sometimes and there's a sense of awkwardness in between them, so Tezuka decided to break the silence.

"Hai…" Sakuno answer without hesitation.

"Why were you there just now?"

"I had my practice at the nearby street tennis court…" she murmured softly.

"Street tennis court? You mean that one next to the playground?"

Sakuno nodded "But I hit the ball too hard and it flew over to the other side and fell into the playground..."

"…" Tezuka didn't know how to react upon hearing what Sakuno said. 'How did she hit the ball to make it fly over to the playground?' Tezuka thought amusingly 'That was quite a distance away from the court…'

"As I thought, my tennis skill is terrible…"

"…" there is another awkward silence between the two again before Tezuka could say a word "Ryuzaki, do you really like tennis or you're only doing because of Echizen…"

Again, Tezuka's questions has taken the girl by surprise, she hesitated for a moment before she answer him with honesty "Yes, I love tennis. At first I also doubted if I've chose to enter to Tennis Club because of Ryoma-kun, but eversince Ryoma-kun left us, I realized…I play tennis because I love tennis. I enjoying running around the court, picking up balls, enjoy the game…"

"I see" Tezuka lowered his head. Her words had somehow made him smile. "I guess there is something I can do to help you to improve your skills"

"Really?" Sakuno instantly lighten up, but soon her smile was replaced with an audible frown "but…how could you have time for me, since you're with the national team. I read the Weekly Tennis Pro magazines and knows that the National Team is busy with their upcoming competitions"

"Ryuzaki…" Tezuka shook his head to disapprove her assumption "never doubt me when I assure you something"

"Hai…"

**

* * *

Even if it's very, very painful, I can never, ever show my complaint.  
Let's not worry about things like this and calm down.  
I won't allow you to say things like "does it hurt, perhaps?"  
I don't want to ever see that sort of worried face again.**

'_6 games to 4! Winner, Tachibana Ann of Fudomine' _

"I lost…" Sakuno lowered her head to admit her defeat. Right after the game she left the court without a word and headed to one of her favorite spot to reminisce her performance during the match. 'How am I gonna face him?' She thought pathetically.

"Ryuzaki?" Tezuka had been searching high and low for the young lady. 'What am I doing? Why am I running and chasing after her?'

Tezuka thought furiously to himself. He seems to have lost his wisdom eversince he had met Sakuno.

_Flashback…_

"_Tezuka-san…" Sakuno waved at him and greet the man with a warm smile "I'm here…"_

'_Ryuzaki…' Tezuka thought. Every time when he sees her smile, his heart skips a beat, yet, he tried not to show his affections._

"_Sakuno Ryuzaki, reporting herself to Tezuka-sensei! From today onward, please show your guidance to me" _

"_Ryuzaki…don't let your guard down…" Tezuka said sternly before they start their training. _

"_Hai! Tezuka-sensei" Sakuno saluted as she flashed another broad and cheerful smile at him._

'_Sensei?' Just as when Tezuka turns away from her, he mused with another smirk on his face._

**

* * *

We can believe in each other, because everyone is here, no matter what the time, we will not be broken**

I won't allow anything like worry, because you are an irreplaceable friend to me.

"Excuse me" Tezuka saw two members of the Girl's Tennis Club; he stopped them to ask if they have seen Sakuno, but as soon as the two ladies recognized him, they shouted with excitement.

"AH! TEZUKA-SAN!" Soon a group of crazy fan girls surrounded him "PLEASE SIGN FOR US!"

Tezuka struggled to break away from the group. Just when he was almost free from their entanglement, he saw Sakuno right in front of him. She didn't know that Tezuka is watching her while she sneaked out of Girl's Club House.

All the fan girls soon quiet down as they too diverted their attention to Sakuno who is now acting like a sneaky thief.

"Ri…yu…za…ki…"

The dreadful voice that called from behind had made Sakuno shivered from head to toes.

Her face turns pale upon registering the owner of that low and dreadful tone. Without turning back, Sakuno began to run away from him.

Once again Tezuka set off and chase after her. All the fan girls were left behind, dumbfounded.

"Wait! Ryuzaki! Why are you running away from me?" Tezuka bellowed while trying to get hold of the girl.

She knew that there is no way that she would get away from him, especially those firm and broad hands pulled her over to his warm embrace.

"Why?" In order to stop her from running away, he embraced her into his arm, though he had a better way to do so, yet, his body seems to have acted on their own, when two hands pulled her towards him. He tightens his embrace, fearing that she'll flee again.

"I…I'm ashamed" Sakuno murmured pathetically, gritting her teeth, she pushes herself to hold back her tears "After all the effort that you had for me, yet, I've lost…"

"I've wasted your time, I've wasted your efforts…I couldn't get myself to face you again, Tezuka-san…I'm sorry…"

"Is that the reason why you're avoiding me?" Sakuno could detect a slight difference in Tezuka's tone as he speaks. His words had somehow calmed the girl down.

"I…" Sakuno lowered her head "I don't know…" Sakuno suddenly felt perplexed. She had no idea why she was running away, avoiding Tezuka in the first place. Perhaps the only reason she could think of is that she doesn't want to see him mad or even hate her.

She knows that her heart would definitely shatter into pieces if only Tezuka would tell her that he hates her for wasting his time. She knew that he really had put a lot of hope, efforts and time to train her well, helping her to improve her skills.

She recalled there was a time, she had caught him fell asleep as he sat on the bench and was suppose to monitor her form during one of their training session. Despite his busy schedule, he always managed to have time to train her.

"_Tezuka-sensei…how is that…" _

"_Tezuka-sensei?" Her eyes widen upon seeing Tezuka's sleeping form. Carefully, she tiptoed towards him. She watched him closely, studying his serene features._

'_He's not so scary now' Sakuno noted mentally, covering her mouth to control her chuckles._

'_He's kinda cute too…' face instantly turns crimson red upon hearing he own thoughts. _

_She couldn't break her stares away from Tezuka. His handsome feature, his serene façade, had deeply captivated her heart. She felt a sudden urge to touch his face, ran fingers over to feel the softness of his hair. _

_Little had she noticed that she was slowly inching towards him, their face is just a few inches away from each other when Tezuka suddenly open up his eyes and sprang up from his sleeping form, colliding his head with hers. An audible groan could be heard from the two. _

'_Her head is harder than I thought' Tezuka could hear the girl apologizing to him while he massages his throbbing forehead._

"_Sorry…Tezuka-sensei…I didn't mean to make you to get your head to bump into mine…I didn't mean to disturb your sleep…"_

"_I'm fine now…" Tezuka assured her and Sakuno instantly felt relieved upon hearing his assurance. _

_Just when she was about to resume back to her practice, Tezuka raised another doubts. "By the way, I though you were suppose to practice your ball controlling skill on the wall. Since you said just now that you were disturbing my sleep…what is it that you want from me?" _

"_I…" Sakuno stood fidgeted; her face blushed furiously upon recalling her earlier depraved thoughts on Tezuka "I…"_

"_Eto…I saw a large mosquito that was about to suck your blood…so I quickly rush over to shoo it away" She lied _

"_Mosquito?" _

"_That's right. A mosquito" _

**

* * *

Let's cut through the wind and advance forward, no matter the destination. Let's push on like a ship running through the ocean. Aiming for the shining light, come on, let's go.  
Facing forward and becoming one, wherever we may go.**

"It's alright" still embracing Sakuno in his arm, Tezuka assured her with an unusual soft voice "I watched the match and I could tell that you've done your best. I'm very proud of you, Sakuno"

Sakuno eyes widen when she heard Tezuka called her given name for the first time. She could also feel a warm hand gently stroking her hair in a comforting manner.

'I'm in love with you…' Sakuno closes her eyes to feel the warmth of the man she's in love with. 'Tezuka…'

'I'm in love with you, Sakuno' at the same time, Tezuka has also cleared up the perplexity of his feelings for Sakuno. He'll just have to handsomely admit to himself that this is the girl that he had fallen for.

* * *

"Mama?" The two tugged their mother's sleeves to bring her soul back from wandering.

"A re?" Still haven't got her soul fully return from wandering around the world, Sakuno blinked at her children.

"Are you okay?" Hoshi asked "Ne, mama…why are you suddenly dozing off?"

"Mama suddenly recalls all those happy incidents of me and your papa"

"Really? Can you share with us?" this time Zuki interjected.

"No…both of you are too young to listen to things like this…" Sakuno reasoned.

"It's time to study…Hoshi, Zuki, be good and go back to your room to do your homework and revision" Sakuno said softly. Knowing that the two are just as persistence as their father, she decided to divert their attention.

"But…" just when the kids were about to protest, Sakuno told them that she'll prepare some dessert for them.

**_

* * *

We can laugh with each other, because everyone is here, we can still do it, and we can still give it our strength. I understand. I won't overdo it. There is no pain. It's all right._**

It's almost dinner time when Tezuka reached home. He massaged his throbbing temples to release his stress.

"Anata/Papa! Okaeri nasai" Sakuno and their twins quickly rush out from the kitchen to welcome the head of the family.

(Anata – Husband, Okaeri nasai – Welcome home)

"Tadaima…" Tezuka smiled. All the tension he had during the meeting were instantly gone, replacing with a sense of happiness that deeply touched his heart when he sees his beloved wife and children.

"Ah? Papa is smiling! Look, Mama, Zuki? Papa is smiling" Hoshi jumped up and down with joy upon seeing his father smiling face.

* * *

Sakuno returned to her room as soon as she had put the two kids to bed. She was surprise to see that her husband is still awake. He's reading the latest Tennis Guide Book, authored by Inui.

"Anata?" Sakuno walk over and stood behind Tezuka and took the book away from Tezuka "It's not good to read in the dark" she protested.

"Sorry" Tezuka apologize "So how are our children today? Are they behaving well?" his head turn and tilts upward to stare at his wife.

"Of course they are" Sakuno assured him.

"Thanks for all the effort, Sakuno"

"Same here…thank you for working so hard for us"

The couple stares passionately at each other. Sakuno lowered her head as she place a soft, chaste kiss on her husband forehead. Tezuka venture further to capture her lips in full. He nibbles her lower lip and she let out a soft moan.

Just when the couple was about to prelude into a more intimate state, the door suddenly sprang open and interjected their moments.

"MAMA/PAPA!" the crying Zuki ran towards to hug both her parents.

"Hoshi is bullying me again!"

"I didn't!"

"Both of you…50 laps around the dinning hall!" Tezuka bolted

"But Anata…it's almost midnight now"

The End

A/N: Bansai, bansai! Finally, my first completed one-shot! A TezuSaku fics. Eto, I would like to apologize to those who would read this fics and find it rather complicating. This fics is actually divided into three parts, the present, the past and the flashbacks of the memories.

I hope I'll do better next time. Please review and lemme know if my fics is good/bad.

Next

Title: Why papa has to be...

Chapter 2: Fuji Shusuke – When tensai meets wobbly girl

Hontoni Arigatou…

mi-chan yori

**  
**


	2. Why Papa has to be Fuji Shusuke

A/N: Merry X'mas Minna-san. Here's another late updates. Please excuse my terrible English. At first I decided to make this a short one but since X'mas is just a day ahead of us, I decided to make use of this fics to plot an X'mas events.

As usual this fics is dedicated to all Sakuno's lover. More pairings to come.

Warning: Sakuno centric. Please do not continue if you are not fans of Sakuno-chan. Readers have been warned.

Standard Disclaimer: Santa Clause is coming to town, yeah, this year, he'll definitely grant me my wish. Let's see what he had sent me. "WHAT! He had granted Konomi-sensei his wish to own Tenipuri! So mean's I can't have them! Even warn me to put up standard disclaimer that Tenipuri is officially owned by Konomi-sensei...

"…" denotes speech

'…' denotes thoughts

_Italics _denotes flashbacks

**Bold** denotes Song lyrics

Song title: Winter Bells by Kuraki Mai

**

* * *

Title: Why Papa has to be…**

Chapter 2: Fuji Shuusuke?When Tensai meets Wobbly Girl

The sky overhead was alive with showers of dancing snowflake that descended from the pale blue sky.

Lying on a thick blanket with her husband's head resting on her partly bared chest, Sakuno watched closely at his serene form.

_**Flashback…**_

"_Sakuno…" he whispered softly as he bent his head and buried his face in the soft riot of her freshly washed hair, his mouth warm and ardent against her soft skin as he kissed her neck and throat and the little pulse that raced wildly at the base of her throat "Please, marry me. Will you marry me?"_

"_But…I've always been a klutz…" Sakuno stared into his blue orbs, her eyes wide "I can't even think of myself eligible for you" Sakuno's heart lurched wildly and she felt suddenly as if everything she ever wanted to happen was happening at once "Shuusuke-kun, I…"_

"_I don't think you were clumsy ever. What I see in you is a woman with a tender heart – too tender at times to think of yourself. You're the woman I want. You're who I care for even more than anything in the world" His usual expression was replaced with a much serious and not a little mischief as he was down on his knees. "For everything. I'm asking you to be my wife, leave your world for mine and understand that forever. Forever, Sakuno"_

"_I love you…Shuusuke…" Sakuno stooped down so their eyes were on level. "I'll marry you" _

Those were the happiest moment of her life which she would reminisce every now and then. She and her husband have been blissfully married for almost twelve years now. Never in her life would she have thought of marrying to the renowned prodigy, Fuji Shuusuke.

Most of their friends and teammates were surprised to find the two started seeing each other few months after their first reunion in Seishun Senior High. Eversince Junior High, the team assumed that the genius had build up certain fondness towards Tachibana Ann of Fudomine as the two were seen together in few occasions. It was later revealed that their meetings were solely because Fuji and Ann's brother, Tachibana Kippei would get together from time to time. The two tennis pros had somehow become close friends. So, in facts, the two were not actually alone.

Yet, the poor girl had always been warned by close friends that she shouldn't take their relationship too seriously since Fuji Shuusuke was also well known for his erratic and airy personality. They had always worried that the innocent girl would be hurt by him. Their anxieties finally settle when the couple announced their marriage right a year after Fuji joined the National Team.

Just when Sakuno was about to run her fingers over his goldenrod mane, a firm hand interjected her movement.

Fuji looks up with his glittering sky blue orbs staring lovingly into her hazel ones.

"Morning, sweetie" he greeted with his usual cheerful tone.

"O…ohaiyou…Shuusuke-kun" Although they had been married for more than ten years now, Sakuno is still very foreign to the ways her husband addressed her.

"Keigo" Fuji rose up from his sleeping form and slightly ruffled his hair as he protested "You can at least try to stop your formalities…you know, we're married for almost ten years and you're still addressing my name with a 'kun' behind"

(Keigo – formality)

"But…" Before Sakuno could stretch further, Fuji captured her lips in full. Pinning his wife into the slumber, he teased her lower lips causing his wife to let out a soft moan.

"Do you think we can have 'that' again?" He whispers softly at one side of her ears.

"But…but…we did it once…last night…" Sakuno stammered.

"Oh…come on, it's good for our health, right?" Fuji teased again, a pair of glittering eyes, telling the woman that he's gonna have it.

"Alright" Finally Sakuno gave in and gestured her husband to come closer.

"Onegai shimasu" with that trademark smirk on his face; Fuji laid his body next to Sakuno, with his back facing her. Sakuno began to massage his back.

(Onegai shimasu – Saying please in a polite way)

_A/N: Er oh…you bunch of naughty, naughty people :P Just what were you people thinking just now?_

"Sakuno, you're always good with it" Fuji said contentedly "Let me massage you too after this"

"No thanks…" Sakuno blushed furiously when she murmured quietly. She knew that if her husband were to do it for her, it wouldn't be solely massaging.

"Sakuno, you're being naughty" a mischievous smirk plastered across his face when he felt that her press on his back suddenly weaken.

"Huh?" Sakuno eyes widen upon hearing what her husband said earlier. Hot steams escaped from her burning cheeks. 'He noticed?'

"Gomen…nasai…" Sakuno murmured softly with slight embarrassment.

"There you go again…" Fuji frown again "You don't have to be so formal nor you need to apologize to me" he paused and turn his head to face his diffident wife "We're husband and wife, remember?"

Sakuno didn't know what came into her. Her blood pressure would just rises upon remembering those heated and passionate moments they shared. She would recall all the passionate expressions of her husband. She couldn't help but to admire his beauty, his expressive features when they make love.

"But…" Soon Fuji's frowning face were replaced with his trademark smirk "That is also the reason why I love you so much, itoshi no Sakuno-chan" once again he rose up and cupped her face with both his hands and pull her closer towards him. "I just love those shy, innocent startling look on your face. You look so amiable" his whisper has been seductive yet honest.

(Itoshi no – My dear)

"Anata…" Sakuno whimpered when her husband claimed her lips again. Before the warm fierceness of his mouth could completely overwhelm her, however, the jangling sound of the alarm clock shattered the quiet of the room; Sakuno knew that they'll have to stop.

(Anata – Husband)

They both turned and looked up at the clock that was placed on the dressing table to check out the time.

"I know that you'll be going off early today…" Sakuno murmured under her breathe that even Fuji could barely hear her clearly. "I think I better go down and prepare breakfast"

Before she could put on the thick robe that was laid on the chair of her dressing table; Fuji shook his head and gently pulled her into a warm embrace. "How I wish, I could hold you like this forever"

"Shusuke…" Fuji's given name suddenly slipped out of her mouth, so fluently that even Fuji himself was taken by surprise. The last time he remembered that his wife had used his given name, was twelve years ago.

"You know I really have to go and prepare something for you to eat before you leave" Sakuno whispered hoarsely.

His grin turns sheepish when he hear her weak and hoarse whisper "I was pretty detestable, am I?"

"No…" Sakuno whispered and ran her index finger tenderly along his shaved upper lip. "You are wonderful. I might have made the biggest mistake of my life if not for you"

Fuji smiled and slowly releases Sakuno from his grasp. "Very well, 'Her Royal Highness' may take her leave" he faked a baritone as he announced. They regarded each other for a moment, their stares filled with so much affection.

"I'm honored, Your Majesty" Sakuno chuckles as she turn and leave. "So, what would you like for breakfast, Your Majesty?"

"Hm…the usual, my beloved Queen" Fuji replied, his smile never faded a bit "Oh, a cup of hot chocolate would be perfect" he added lastly.

"Hai" with that Sakuno left the room "Your wish is my command, my beloved 'Ou-sama'"

(Ou –sama – King)

He watched as his wife changed into her casual wear and tuck in her favorite pink colored apron printed with 'Higuma' patterns.

(Higuma – Bear)

* * *

Right after taking the last glance of his wife's back, Fuji flashed another contented smirk. Humming his favorite song 'Amazing Grace'; he head towards the bathroom.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, Fuji Kousuke, their ten year old son is already there.

"Kou-kun?" Sakuno blinked "Why are you here at this time?"

"I know that Shuu-papa is going out for an early meeting, so I'm here to help you up" Despite of his tender year, Kousuke has been a great helper to Sakuno. He even baby sit his little sister, Fuji Himeno who was four years his junior whenever Sakuno has to go out and shop for the supplies.

"I see" Sakuno smile and went over to give a peck on his cheek "You're such a good boy Kou-kun…but please leave it all to mama, okay?"

"Okay" Kousuke nodded "but, please let me stay in the kitchen. I'll just watch"

Fuji Kousuke; who inherited almost hundred percent of his father's gene both physically and mentally; has been well known by not only the family members; but also to all friends around them; for his protectiveness over Sakuno eversince the first day when his knowledge was enlightened.

Everyone had suspected that the boy has a certain crush towards his own mother as marked by Inui that the child could be a 'mother complex'. Since Inui has been the best data analyzer of the Nation; no one doubted that his data could be wrong.

Like the boy had promised, he just sits and watched silently over her mother's back; too quiet that the boy began to notice that his mother's thoughts are slowly drifting to wonderland again.

According to Inui jii-chan's teaching. One: Stood more than 5 minutes – She could possibly burn your breakfast. Two: Stood more than 15 minutes – She could possibly burn the kitchen. Three: 15 minutes and above – Check if your house is covered by Fire Insurance. 'Kousuke…mark my word; never leave your mom alone if you see her stood there fidgeted. She could be extremely dangerous'

Just when Kousuke was about to alert his mother from her thoughts; the familiar amiable voice interrupted as he made his entrance to join his family "Sakuno-chan; the breakfast is almost burnt"

"Ah!" frantically, Sakuno quickly switch off the stove and due to her gifted nature of wobbliness; she were bound to turn the kitchen upside down.

"Hyuu…" Fuji faked a whistle "You seems very energetic today…koiishi"

"Touchan! You've startled Kaachan!" Kousuke quickly walk over to check and had found that his mother is not hurt. As he would expect from his mother, she would give herself a knock and apologize for being a klutz.

"You don't have to apologize" his eyes pierced coldly at his father. "It's not your fault! He's always teasing you" he added coldly.

"Where did you get this idea from? I'm not teasing her?" he smiled again.

"Lies!" Kousuke retaliated.

"I just thought I'd try and get a feel of how she would react" his trademark smiles never change a bit.

"That's called trying to tease someone!"

"Ano…" Sakuno stammered frantically. Fearing that the father and son were about to start their bickering again, and also knowing that her husband never gets tired of annoying their son; Sakuno quickly stood in between the two to stop them. It doesn't need Sakuno to say a word; the two Fujis immediately stop their bickering when they sensed her depression.

"Well, I guess that's for today" Shuusuke smiled "Kou-kun, honestly, I really love the way you look when you're pissed off" he added as a matter of factly.

"Anata…" Sakuno immediately pouted.

"Fine…I'll go and check if our cute little Hime-chi is out of her bed already" Fuji heaved a sigh in defeat.

"I'll stay and help Kaachan to clear up the mess" Kousuke muttered exasperatingly "please do not purposely wake Hime up, since you'll be leaving soon. We've got lots of things to clear up before X'mas. If she wakes up because of you…" Kousuke shot another dead glare at his father "I'll make you to bring her to meeting with you"

"My adorable son is talking like an adult now" Fuji smile again and that irritates his son even more "Honestly, I'll be happy to bring Hime-chi along. You know, your Eiji-jiichan is always complaining about the boring meeting? I'm sure he'll be very happy to see Hime-chi" he prompted and poke an index finger under his chin and pretended that he's imagining things "I wonder…what will he do to our cute little Hime-chi"

"Err…Nevermind of what I've said earlier. Just leave her here then" After hearing what his father said, Kousuke added lastly.

"Thank you, my adorable Kou-chan" Fuji grinned with much satisfaction before heading towards his daughter's room.

As soon as Shuusuke left the kitchen, Kousuke massaged his throbbing temples to show his stress. "If this goes on; I think I might not be able to live long"

"Kou-kun?" Sakuno blinked with surprise "How can you say such words? You're only ten"

"Mama, you're being too patience with Shuu-papa" Kousuke claimed "Because you're too kind. You've always let things slip away easily, even if he show no mercy when he teased you, make fun of you, you'll just give in with a smile"

"Really? I did?" Sakuno asked curiously as she pondered while clearing up the mess.

"You can't even tell that if he's teasing you" Kousuke continued "That's why, as your son, I have to protect you"

"Kou-kun" Sakuno was indeed touched by Kousuke. She knows that no matter what would happen; he would always place her in priority, just like his father.

"Kairashi ko ya ne" She smiled and went over to give him a warm hug "I'm so happy"

(Kairashi ko ya ne – What a pleasant child. This phrase can be described that the child is adorable. Kairaku means pleasure)

"Mama…" Kousuke blushed furiously when his mother hugged him. Kousuke felt the warmth of his mother. She has always been so tender hearted and warm as sunshine.

He doesn't know why but he always felt like a child when he's with his mother. It was only in front of his mother, he'd show his infantile behavior.

"Hora yo…why don't you just sit there and watch while Mama clears up the place" she smiled.

"But…" Just when he was about to stretch further, Sakuno shook her head with protestation. "No but. This is an order"

"Hai…" he answered childishly. Obediently, Kousuke on his own seat, watching his mother arranging all those cooking utensils back to the rack.

While watching his mother doing her chores; he began to ponder out loud "How I wish if there are only me, Mama and Hime staying together"

"What about Shuu-papa?" Without looking at Kousuke, Sakuno asked with her usual cheerfulness.

"You know I never like Shuu-papa. He always gets on my nerves" Kousuke said frankly "Every year, I wrote notes to Santa Clause and wished that he'll take Shuu-papa away from us"

"Er…" Sakuno sweat drop. She remembered; last year Shuusuke was suppose to put the X'mas present into their children's red socks, then his face suddenly changes hue right after reading the note that was placed in Kousuke's sock. 'Could it be the cause of why Shuusuke is typically fond of annoying Kousuke?'

"Because of him, I became the major issue of our tennis club; they always compared me with that so call Tensai; they know me as nobody but 'Tensai no musuko' and I really hate it. I never wanted to be his child and why does he has to be our papa…"

(Tensai no Musuko – The son of genius)

While his son keeps on complaining, Sakuno frantically interjected "Ano…Kou-kun, please do not hate your father. I know that he might have always teased you, but he do this just wanted you to recognize him"

"Kaa-chan?" Kousuke blinked with surprise upon hearing his mother's word "You know I don't like it when you defended him" he turns his gaze somewhere else as he muttered.

"Because he wanted you to recognize him as your father and not as what other people sees him as 'Tensai Fuji', because you're his beloved son"

"He had always loved you so much; just like the way he loved me and Himeno"

"He loves me?" Kousuke's heart lurched "That's impossible. He only wants to make fun of me; its part of his joy when he irritates me"

"That's one of his special ways for him to show his affections" Sakuno said softly

"Is that the reason that you married Shuu-papa?"

Sakuno shook her head "He was the one who pulled me out of my lonely world, a shy, wobbly girl that feared to interact with people around me…and changed my life. He paints my life with wonderful colors"

"He gives me everything that I've always wanted. He gives me you, Kou-kun…and Hime-chi, my two precious children and I'm contented"

"Kaachan?" He had never heard his mother talking to him like this before. Those serious and yet honest way she applied to every word she said a while ago had somehow kicked some sense into Kousuke's mind.

**

* * *

The past…**

"Mou, Fuji…You're so tricky! Making me running here and there, trying to exhaust me, aren't you?" Eiji complained as he quickly jumps over to the far corner to intercept the ball that Fuji returned.

"Eiji, wasn't that part of our training?" Fuji said casually as he flashed his trademark smirk at his opponent "It's been long since I've not enjoy such game, Eiji"

As soon as their game ended, the two senior regulars headed back to the club house. Just when they went passed by the girl's tennis court; Fuji spotted a familiar hazel-haired girl with high pony tail. He stopped by and studied the girl.

"Fuji?" Eiji elbowed Fuji lightly to get him to get going but Fuji shook his head and gesture Eiji to leave first. Eiji nodded with a mischievous smirk and carefully, without alarming the girl, he walked back to the club house.

A smirk plastered on Fuji's handsome face when he observed her movement as she practices her accuracy on countering the ball.

The girl stood still for quite sometimes. He raised his brow upon seeing the girl taking a deep breathe before tossing the ball into the midair and hit it towards the wall. When the ball bounces back, she swings her racket but she misses the ball. Right after the ball flew passed her; yet; she remained her fidgeted position for a moment, a pair of deadly serious eyes stared at wall in front of her.

"That was close. If only your knees could bend a little, you'll be able to hit the ball" his sudden interjection had startled her. It doesn't need Sakuno to turn around to see who the unexpected visitor is as she could well recognize his voice.

"Fuji-senpai?" Sakuno slowly turn around to face the tennis prodigy, she regarded him anxiously 'He saw me missing that hit?' she thought inwardly 'That was embarrassing…'

"I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" he asked and she nodded with her face blushing furiously.

Fuji noticed the girl's sudden nervousness, a contented smirk plastered on his face. The girl's crimson cheek makes her looks even cuter.

"Why are you still practicing at this time since all the girls had left home early?"

"I was about to go back…" she replied softly.

"Alone? At this time?" Fuji raised a brow.

"Yes" Sakuno nodded while her fingers trailing along the frame of her pink colored racket.

"That I won't allow" Fuji said with a rather stern voice, yet his usual expression never changed a bit "unless someone's accompanying you. A girl to go back home at this time is too dangerous, moreover…" he paused 'A girl like you shouldn't be going back alone…' a thought kicked into his sense as he did noticed that the girl which the team had once knew is no longer a child, but a beautifully developed cherry blossom, pretty well developed despite she's only fourteen.

The rather dominating comment surprised Sakuno, and something about the tone of the tennis prodigy made her comprehended that he is pretty concern about her.

A pair of shrewd bright eyes opened and looked at her speculatively for a moment. She had never seen him staring at her like this. Her heartbeats fasten, and her blush could be visibly seen.

"If you agree, I can walk you back home"

Immediately Sakuno shook her head frantically "That would be too troublesome, senpai"

"It's okay, besides I'm also going back home" he smiled "Let's walk together"

"Hai" Sakuno nodded and quickly pack up her belongings, worrying that she'll have to keep her senior waiting.

"You don't need to rush; I can wait"

"Hai" Although she assured him with a positive answer, yet her hands never stop shaking from nervousness. Due to her intrinsic clumsiness, instead of clearing up, the whole backpack fell into the ground together with the stuffs inside her bag were scattered all over the court.

"Do…doushiyou?" Sakuno said with teary eyes as she bites hard on the hankie, the only item she managed to save "I'm…I'm sorry"

"Just as I would expect…Sakuno-chan's tension is so overwhelming" Fuji remarked with another trademark smirk on his face.

"Eto…" Sakuno lowered her head as she muttered beneath her breathe "I...I'm sorry"

"It's okay…here; let me help you out with the things" Fuji offered and Sakuno quickly shook her head to turn him down. However base on his stance, the Tensai is pretty much persistence towards what he had set. He no difference from other seniors she once knew. The now strongest team of the Nation, the Seigaku Regulars and their renowned diligence is what make them become stronger and stronger.

Before Sakuno could stretch further her protestation, Fuji has already set his hands on those items that scattered on the ground.

"This is the first time I get to see what's inside a girl's backpack" Fuji said casually while picking up those items from the one corner to the other. "Reminds me the time when I was still a freshman in the club, picking up balls"

"Right…" Sakuno smile a little as she too had reminisced of their old good times, though right now, most of the members had gone on separate ways. No doubt, the regulars are still the regulars minus the younger tennis genius, Echizen Ryoma, as for all these years, the young prince has been pursuing his tennis career in the States.

He had not been returning to Japan eversince the last time he came back here and prompted their captain on a match. He had finally won Tezuka which he had always wanted. Although he did hinted that he'll be back, but, as years passed, she began to lose her faith in believing that someday Ryoma would come back to them, back to her.

Fuji noticed the gloomy expression on her face. 'She thinking of him again?' Most of them actually knew about the crush that Sakuno had on their junior, the arrogant tennis genius. It's really sad to see that there's no chance for such innocent love to spark and flourish.

Fuji decided to say something to lighten up the tension that started to build around them. "Heh? Sakuno-chan, you've got pretty much stuff to bring with you everyday. Must be very heavy for you carry all these things"

"I think these things would be in need just in case of emergency" Sakuno chuckles as she explains. Those cute chortling sound had somehow warmed his heart. Deciding he should end his staring, Fuji decided to divert his attention onto something else.

"Sakuno-chan? The tennis ball over there; there's something you've drawn on it?" Fuji sharp observation instantly spotted the ball and went over to pick it up. As soon as he picked up the ball, he studied the picture. It was a cute little 'chibified' form of Ryoma.

"That…that was nothing in particular" Sakuno stammered as she lied "It was one of those hobbies of me and Tomo-chan…we decided to do a marking on the balls to identify our belongings"

"It's okay…" Fuji chuckled as he tried to shove off the slight resentment that was building up in his heart "You don't need to explain everything to me, right?"

"Eto…" Sakuno was surprised by his words. Indeed he's right. There's no need for her to explain to him. "I'm sorry"

"Mou…eversince I met you…you've been apologizing to me" Fuji frowned "you shouldn't apologize to anyone if it's not your fault"

"Hai…" Sakuno stuttered "I'm…" just when she was about to apologize again, Fuji furrowed his brow and shook his head as to show his protestation.

There was a moment of silence between the two, right after they had finish clearing up the mess; they sat quietly on the bench with their shoulders barely touching. The warm breeze blow towards them as they enjoy the peaceful and beautiful scene of the sun sinking towards the horizon.

"Sakuno-chan"

"Hai?"

"Before we go…can you help me to mark my tennis ball?"

"Yes…" Shyly she nodded her head and took the tennis ball from him "But, I can't guarantee you that it's gonna be good"

"No problem…as long as it won't look like an alien" Fuji joked.

Just when Sakuno was drawing a 'chibified' Fuji portrait, Fuji moves closer to check out the progression. Unaware by their sudden closeness, Sakuno turned her head and was about to ask him for some details when their face were caught just a few inches away from each other. The surprised blue orbs caught the hazel ones.

Both of them were in a rather startle and embarrassing state as the two quickly move away from each other.

"I'm sorry…" the two stammered in unison.

"I mean, my wobbliness had caused the embarrassment"

"No…no, it's my fault that I couldn't help my curiosity to see what you're working on, so this time; it's my fault"

"No…no, because my sense of reflexes is slow" Sakuno lowered her head and thought of all those bad hitches she had "Just like my tennis skills. After all these years, it never shows signs of improvement no matter how hard I practice. Maybe I should just give up tennis and join other club instead"

"Sakuno-chan…Don't deride yourself" Fuji said "Like Confucius says 'others don't confuse you; you creates doubts and confuses yourself"

"Eh? Did Confucius say that?" Once again Sakuno look up at her senior with much curiosity.

"Nope…I just made it up" Fuji chuckled "and I guess I've got you there"

"Senpai…" He could tell that the girl is now blushing furiously despite the sky is getting darker and darker.

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. Sakuno mentally scolded herself for causing such awkwardness and she decided to do something to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Ne, Fuji-senpai…" Sakuno hesitated but as soon as she heard him gestured her to continue, she nodded and beamed a bright and radiant smile at him "I know…it's kinda silly to ask…"

"Nani kai?" Fuji smiled gaily at her and encourages her to continue.

"Eto...what is the thing in this world that you thinkis free of charge?" her voice has been mellow due to her inherent introversion but that was good enough for Fuji to catch the issue.

Fuji rubbed his chin and began to ponder. It didn't take much of his time to think of an answer when he just simply replies "It's 'Air'…"

"Air?" Sakuno blink and Fuji explained "It's free isn't it?"

Sakuno could only nod frantically her head to agree with him. Inwardly she heaved a sigh for she herself also didn't know the exact answer since the question was actually raised out of her own curiousness, but she is happy since the atmosphere has lightened a little.

Sakuno managed to recompose herself and resumed back to her task.

Meanwhile Sakuno is taking her time to complete the drawing; Fuji also took out a tennis ball from his pocket and started to draw something on it. Just when Sakuno has completed her drawing Fuji is also done with his.

"Eh? Fuji-senpai? You had also drew something?"

"Yes" he nodded and they both exchange their masterpiece.

"This…this is me?" Sakuno blinked with astonishment upon seeing her 'chibified' portrait marked on the ball "It's so cute…Fuji-senpai…you're so talented"

"Really?" Fuji smiled contentedly "I'm glad that you like mine just like I like yours too"

"Ano…" Sakuno eyes widen with disbelieve of what she had heard. "I don't think mine is good, but, I'm glad that you like it too"

"So it decided" Fuji declared "I'll keep yours and you'll keep mine"

"You mean I can keep this?" Sakuno asked again.

"Unless you don't want to" Fuji smiled and inwardly he had hoped that she would accept it.

"Thank you!" a wide smile plastered on her cheerful façade "I'm so happy"

"Hm…" Fuji nodded; a pleasing smirk appears on his face upon seeing the girl's cheerfulness. 'She is so uncomplicated and easy to satisfy' Fuji noted.

As the two were sharing happy moments together, unknown to them, there is also some other people hiding themselves in the bushes next to the tennis court spying on them. The three young ladies were the devotees of Fuji Shusuke. One of them happened to be the president of the self proclaimed 'Hopelessly Devoted to Prince Fuji Club'. They watched with green eyes upon seeing the girl being so close to their prince.

"My oh my" the vice president said provokingly "there goes another chick who violate our club's rule again"

"You're right, vice president" the president said with much fumes "She definitely needs some guidance for her ignorance…"

"Yeah" the third unknown young lady said as she was about to crush the bones of her love pet, the poor little 'nyanko'

(Nyanko – cute suffix for cats)

From days to weeks, from weeks to months; Tensai and Wobbly Girl eventually becomes close friends, as the genius would spend his after practice hours to visit the girl who has been working extra hard to improve her skills. He would also guide her to ensure that she has a proper knowledge to cope up with her shortcomings. In return the girl would always prepare bento and confectionary to repay him for his guidance.

**

* * *

There's comes day when…**

**"L... O... V... E... Love Me... Shuusuke"** sang a group of girls dancing something like the YMCA. **"Gibberish...love! Gibberish...love! L...O... V... E... Love Me... Shuusuke"** Looping around each girl ended in a different victory pose holding strange hand signs. Everyone in the school, including the group of tennis members stared at those fangirls with amusement.

"Nyah? Fuji? Why are the fangirls so active today?" whispered Eiji into Fuji ear.

"Beats me" replied Fuji in the same manner.

"By the way, what are they saying?" he raised his eyebrow and throws a curious look at those girls.

"Love me Shuusuke" Fuji replied lamely with another audible frown.

"You were right when you told me about them, they are scary." Eiji shrugged with goosebumps all over his body.

'How I wish someone would come and save me from all these harassment' Fuji thought inwardly as he sighed for the second time. 'It's really strange that Tezuka didn't come here and chase them away' he turn, trying to check on their captain only to see that he is also surrounded by bunches of annoying girls, even if he keeps on glaring at them. All he could see from the fans' eyes were all passions and desires.

"Fuji-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai!" unaware of the big scene that Fuji's fanclub had created, Sakuno approached her two seniors.

"Oh? Sakuno-chan! Yosh, yosh...you're here with some good stuffs for us right?" Seeing that the young lady is holding a confectionary box with her, Eiji quickly walk over to greet her with one of his famous toothy smirk.

"Ano…" She lowered her head and blushed furiously before she could reply the enthusiastic acrobatic player "I've made some strawberry pie during home science class"

"And these are for us?" Eiji asked with his trademark nyanko wink.

"Sakuno-chan is really a nice girl" Fuji interjected as he walks towards Sakuno.

"I just happened to make extra" Sakuno smiled amiably at the two seniors.

"Eh? Fuji? I thought you never like sweet stuff?" Eiji blinked curiously upon seeing Fuji was about to accept the pie that Sakuno had offered.

"Frankly" Fuji smiled "I'm not too fond of sugary foods…"

"Really?" Sakuno suddenly felt her world turns gloomy. Though the two were not that close when they were studying in Seigaku Junior High School; but Sakuno had heard comments from Kachiro, Katsuo and Horio; saying that the genius has typically weird taste for food.

"But; I'd loved anything that is made by Sakuno-chan" Fuji glimpsed at the girl before turning back his attention to his teammates who stare at him with shock at first but in just a moment the acrobatic player was able to regain his composure and give Fuji a playful headlock. "Ma…ma, stop serenading the girl. Ann-chan's gonna be jealous, you know"

"Ann-chan?" At first Sakuno is filled with abundance of joy; but soon after hearing what Eiji said a while ago makes her heart sinks.

"Eh? Sakuno-chan? You didn't hear anything about the rumors?" Eiji said with an enthralling tone "Fuji and Ann-chan are actually…"

"Eiji!" Before the Eiji could continue further, Fuji immediately covered Eiji's mouth with his hands to stop him for babbling. Sakuno was not sure if she's been seeing things but at that moment she thought she saw Fuji blushed when Eiji mentioned Ann's name.

'Are they seeing each other?' Sakuno thought anxiously 'Even so, that has nothing to do with me, but…why is my heart in pain? What is this feeling?'

To make the situation even worst, a bunch of fangirls approached Sakuno and glared her as if they wanted to skin her alive and dried her underneath the burning sun.

"Excuse me!" As soon as the bunch of fangirls spotted the closeness of Sakuno and their prince, a fangirl screamed and dragged Sakuno away. "What were you doing within five feet of Shuusuke without another female present? Don't you know the rules? I think they need to be explained to you again..." the president walked towards Sakuno and began to blabber again.

One, we do not steal the Prince's belongings.

One, we do not invade the Prince's home.

One, when addressing him, more than two must be present.

One, the titles of the Prince is as follows:

For seniors... Shuusuke!

For juniors... Shuusuke-kun!

For sophomores... Shuusuke-san!

For freshman... Shuusuke-sama!

Long live the Prince! The last phrase was shouted in unison by the devotees.

Eiji clapped from behind "I have to praise you on your creativity. Weren't those exact words taken from Furuba by Natsuki Takaya sensei?" he interrupted after watching such performance by Fuji's fansclub! The others just stood behind Eiji with antagonism.

"There's nothing wrong with taking the ideas of a great society!" answered the weird girl as she turned around.

"…" Both Fuji and Sakuno sweat drop upon hearing the rather eccentric declaration from the club.

"And you! We've been noticing you for quite sometimes! How dare you ignore our rules and step beyond the border!" She pulled Sakuno harshly on one side of her shoulder causing her to lose her balance and the box of strawberry pie slipped from her grip and fell onto the ground.

The two stares anxiously at Sakuno as she bends forward to check if the pie is still okay. To everyone's comprehension, the supposed to be strawberry pie would no doubt turns into piles of junks.

"What a waste. I've spent quite sometimes just to get it done" Sakuno murmured with slight reluctance to accept the precision.

This time Fuji walks forward and stood in front of Sakuno, glaring at the girl with much exasperation.

"That's enough of harassment for today…" he said perilously; losing his usual composure "Don't act like you all have known me well…"

"Fuji…" Eiji swallowed a lump. He could not believe his ears that the one who say those words are really the renowned calm and frolicsome, Fuji Shuusuke.

"I preferred to be calm and rational, but I'm not above controlling people with terror either!" a pair of cool, ruthless gaze promised to put their life to hell for what they had done to Sakuno.

Right after his stern proclamation, Fuji turn and approach the depressed Sakuno and stoop right in front of her.

"Fuji-senpai…" Sakuno muttered sadly as tears could be seen from the corner of her eyes "I'm sorry"

Fuji shook his head again and gently patted her head "Like I said before, you shouldn't apologize if it's not your fault"

Sakuno appreciated his benevolence, but she was close to tears.

"Sakuno-chan…" Fuji eyes sadden upon seeing her depressing expression.

Without saying a word, Fuji took the box from Sakuno's hand and savored the deformed strawberry pie in front of her.

While savoring the pie, he showed a contented look on his face "It's delicious"

"Fuji…Fuji-senpai…" Sakuno sniffed and shyly she lowered her head "Arigatou"

She was deeply touched by Fuji's munificence, however, it was because of her; he had lost his tranquility. Because of her flimsy nature, the prince had said terrible words to those who have been hopelessly devoted to him. She had once devoted to someone and she knew the heartrending feeling of being hated by someone you loved so much.

Moreover, she began to understand that she is beginning to fall in love with him, falling for somebody's boyfriend.

Though she'd felt a strong queasiness that wrench her heart upon making such decision; yet; from that very moment; Sakuno had decided to keep a distance from Fuji Shuusuke before she fall deeper and deeper into his trap.

* * *

Fuji was disoriented with Sakuno sudden change of behavior. Suddenly, her mirthful smile had disappeared, revealing a gloomy cheerless face with devoid of interest and laughter from her brilliant eyes. But what Fuji found upsetting was Sakuno was avoiding him whenever they met. Sometimes, he tried to wait for her at their familiar bench, but in vain. He attempted to wait for her after school, but never would she show up. Whenever he tried to talk to her as they met in the school compound, Sakuno would increase her stride, and briskly walked away, ignoring his requests. No matter how loud he would call, Sakuno never stop, let alone turn back and reply his urging words. His heart never felt so heavy and downcast before.

After all these time; Fuji finally had a chance to get to know Sakuno better or even building up certain fondness towards her. Though Sakuno has always been shy and clumsy; but she is honest and conscientious. The girl had always tried hard to improve herself. He enjoys talking and sharing almost everything with her since she has always been a good listener.

He enjoys watching her when she blushes, her delicacy and her cute silly gestures. He remembers each and every one of them. She would always apologize to people even if she is not at fault.

_**Flashback…**_

"_Sakuno-chan? Why are you always apologizing eventhough it's not your mistake?" Fuji pondered perceptibly while watching her practicing against the wall. _

_"Hai?" As always, the attentive girl would turn to face the person who'd talks to her, yet, she had totally forgotten that she had just hit the ball back to the wall and as she make her turn, the ball bounced back from the wall had hit hard against Sakuno's left cheek, causing her to wail in pain "Itai…" _

"_Sa…Sakuno!" Fuji quickly ran over to examine her swelled cheek "You're not suppose to lose your focus while practicing" _

_Right after he helped Sakuno to sit on the bench, he tilted her chin up so that he could take a closer look at the injury. Sakuno blushes when she felt his other fingers softly touched the injured cheek. "Luckily it's only a minor one" he heaved a sigh "You'll need something cool to treat the swell" _

_"Wait here. I'll sodden the hankie for you" Fuji ordered with a rather solemn manner. Sakuno immediately nodded without saying a word. _

_Right after Fuji left; Sakuno began to weep silently, since she had been holding back her tears; not wanting Fuji to see her in teary eyes. 'Why am I so clumsy? I'm always making a fool out of myself'_

_"Sakuno?" Fuji's voice startled her "What's wrong? Are you in pain?" It seems like whatever Sakuno had planned earlier had gone wry, as she never expected him to come back so soon. _

_He quickly walks over and draped the cool, wet hankie to sooth her cheek at the same time, his eyes staring anxiously at her. _

"_I…I'm sorry" despite of the pain on her injured cheek, Sakuno managed to murmured a soft apology. _

"'_Sorry' must be one of your favorite quote" Sakuno eyes widen when she felt his fingers brushing away her tears "You would choose to take the blame rather than pushing it to others, right?"_

"_Next time I'm not gonna distract you from your training. It's too dangerous…" Fuji flashed a rather rare but charming smile at her. _

"_Fuji-senpai?" She murmured; her eyes widen and stared at him, anxiously._

"_I'm only teasing you" this time Fuji let out a soft chuckle "But I really like your stance, you're so adorable" _

"_I'm…I'm not always like that" She murmured beneath her breathe. This time she turned and look away from him, however, she realized that he's slowly guiding her face towards his._

"_I know…" he whispers, his face slowly inching towards hers; warm breathe caresses her cheeks, her eyes witnessing the moment his lips almost touched hers._

_Just when Sakuno was about to close her eyes, Eiji's voice interjected their moment. Eyes wide open, both of them regarded each other with much revelation rather than disenchantment. _

_Immediately he released the girl and murmured a soft apology. He is well aware of what he was doing earlier. He should have behaved more gentlemanly; he should have asked for her permission first. _

_When Eiji joined the two, he was surprise to see the two were typically silent. _

_Usually he would expect the two to talk to each other like the world only revolves around them. But right now; based on their stance; they look rather awkward and embarrassing. _

"_What's wrong with you two today?" _

"_Nan demo nai" They were caught replying in unison. _

'I know' a hand gently trails on the cold bench where both of them used to sit and talk and enjoy their good times together 'I'm in love with you, Sakuno-chan. Why? Why are you avoiding me now?'

Unaware by Fuji, Sakuno had been hiding herself in the bushes somewhere not too far away from the tennis court; watching him eversince she saw him sitting on the bench all by himself.

At that very moment, Sakuno felt very miserable. Now she knew how much Fuji worth in her heart. She felt empty and dispirited. She wanted to cry, but she tried to be strong, and swallowed her tears into her heart, as each time she ignored Fuji advances. With his familiar, mellow voice reaching out for her, she wanted to run towards him, embrace him tightly and confess her love to him, but with each thought of these, she would banish them immediately, telling herself it was impossible for them to be together. He's 'Tensai Fuji' and she is 'Wobbly Sakuno'

'I love you…Fuji-senpai…but…we were not meant to be' a sad thought kicked into her sense once again 'Moreover…he is Ann-chan's boyfriend. Ryuzaki Sakuno, you'll have to be more sensible and accept the fact' she gave herself another depressing mental note.

She took out the tennis ball which Fuji had marked for her. She had thought of giving it back to him, yet, part of her was reluctant to do so. Perhaps to him, it doesn't mean anything, but it's a great deal for her.

"Well…well…look who's here?" a malevolence voice came behind and startled Sakuno.

Sakuno turn around and was surprised to see the girl who claimed to be the president of Fuji's Fansclub. Behind her, there were three young men.

"You seemed to have enjoyed your time with our prince" she grimaced.

"What do you want…?" She moved a few steps backward, her voice trembles with fear.

"Wow, Chiho! You're right. She's definitely one heck of a cute babe" one man remarked with a pair of depraving eyes staring at Sakuno.

"Onii-chan…let's not waste anymore time. Just drag her out of here so we can have fun with her" another man suggested.

Sakuno finally realized their intentions. Just when she was about to escape; all the four people impeded her. She never thought they could move so fast. She felt her hands being locked by a pair of strong arms from behind.

Another pair of hands covered her mouth tightly, not giving her chance to let out any sound. She was too weak to even to bite the hands that were covering her mouth. Together, the hoisted the girl and carried her along and venture into the forest.

"Haha…this is a punishment for violating the rules" Chiho laughed hysterically.

Tears steam down her face when she saw another man approaching her. She witnessed as he was about to undo her dress when a familiar voice shouted angrily from behind.

"Get your dirty hands off Sakuno!" He warned dangerously.

"Shuusuke…" Chiho voice trembles "How do you know we're here?"

"I said; get your dirty hands off Sakuno!" Fuji eyes glared at them, those glares are even more threatening than the last time he had when the fangirls bullied Sakuno.

"Nii-chan! What should we do now?"

"What are you two idiot doing here!" the eldest brother screamed "Go and get him!"

The other two obliged and dash over to attack Fuji.

"I've been obviously too kind-hearted" Fuji said and in just a few moves, the two brothers collapsed and fell flat onto the ground.

"Fuji! You bastard! How dare you do this to my brothers!" he released Sakuno and launch attack on Fuji but he dodged it without any difficulty.

"You should tell yourself to treat your brothers humanely" Fuji was able to grab both his arms and lock them behind his back and kicked his knees to make him to kneel on the ground. The man wailed in pain and begs Fuji for forgiveness.

"How dare you lay your dirty hands on my Sakuno-chan" Fuji hissed coldly "How dare you touch her like this!"

"Like I said before, I preferred to be calm and rational" He turned and glared at the lady once again "Guess, you all prefers to have it the hard way" with that he grab the man on his collar and hit him with a real good punch before pushing him to bump into Chiho.

Sakuno couldn't believe of what she sees or what she had heard. She couldn't believe that the man in front of her is none others than the always friendly and light hearted, Fuji-senpai. What surprise her even more is that, he knows 'Kenpou?'

(Kenpou – Chinese art of self defense)

But all of these would not be good enough to make her heart skip. The only word that makes her heart beat frantically; pounding against her rib cage was when he claimed her as 'His Sakuno'

"Sakuno…" As soon as he had taken care of all the four people, he quickly walks over to check on Sakuno "Daijyobu?"

"Oh my god" Fuji heaved a loud and heavy sigh "Luckily I found your tennis ball and one of your shoes at the nearby bushes. I've never imagined that they'll do this to you…"

Sakuno nodded and he gave her a quick tight hug before carrying her in bridal style, leaving the four baddies behind.

As soon as Sakuno recovered from her initial shock, she told Fuji to let her down but he refuses.

"Fuji-senpai…" Sakuno stammered "please let me down…I can walk"

"No" he declined coldly. Sakuno could hear the irritation in his voice.

"Let me down…" she said again, this time she raised her voice a little.

This time Fuji did not reply her. Despite of her insignificant struggles, he managed to tighten his grip on her as he continues to walk out of the forest.

Fuji had decided to send Sakuno back home first, when suddenly a heavy downpour stranded them.

He quickly dashed towards the club house since that's the nearest shelter he could think of.

* * *

Drenched by the heavy downpour, they entered the club house, he settles Sakuno on the bench before he proceeds to his cabinet to get a dry towel.

Without a word, Fuji gave the only dry towel he had to Sakuno. She looks up and noted that his expression had not lightened up a bit. He had not been facing her too when he passed the towel to her.

"Ari…ga…tou" Sakuno managed to muttered a word.

He took the seat beside her before saying a word "I thought you're not going to talk to me anymore"

"I…I'm sorry" Sakuno drop her head down and stare sadly at the towel which he shoved to her a while ago.

"No…Sakuno! This is not what I want to hear from you" For all his life, he had never felt so vulnerable before. Even if his brother, Fuji Yuuta; who had once gone against him, he's not as upset as he is now "Tell me, why are you avoiding me? Have I done something wrong?"

Sakuno shook her head and began to break into soft weep upon hearing Fuji's words.

"I don't know…" Fuji closes his eyes in pain "I can't bear to see you ignoring me"

"Please tell me what had happened?" Fuji voice cracked and once again he cupped her cold cheeks and look into her eyes. "Please don't look away from me"

"I…I'm sorry, Fuji-senpai" Sakuno choked as she raised both her hands to cover his now very cold ones, gently stoking them to warm them up a little. "I'm sorry for ignoring, shunning you for the so long. It splinters my heart too…but you know that would be best for us" her gaze drop down as the tears flowed down like river.

"Sakuno, look at me" Fuji said sternly, more like ordering and she obliged. A pair of teary hazel orbs stare at him with the equally pain which his blue ones possessed. "Tell me, do you think I'm happy now? What would I be if you're not here by my side?"

Sakuno did not want to answer him for she has already known the answer.

There was a moment of silence in the club house despite the sound of heavy downpour and the roaring sound of the ferocious thunder.

"We can't go on like this" Again Sakuno broke the silence. Nervously bite her lower lips glanced up at him through her lashes, wary of making him even more irritated with her comments.

"Why?" Fuji raised a brow "I like you, Sakuno and I can feel that you like me too. Then where is the problem?"

"It's Ann-chan" The prodding has been relentless and Sakuno began to rebel it.

"Ann-chan?" Fuji's brow rose curiously "but where does she come into? Am I supposed to read something significant into that?"

Sakuno shook her head helplessly, finding it harder and harder to go on. However, that cool gaze promised to extract the last ounce of satisfaction from her confession and she had never felt more defensively vulnerable in her life "She's your girlfriend" she went on.

Fuji eyes widen and had said nothing for a second or two. He then looked down at her with a strangely unfathomable look in his blue eyes, then he shook his head slowly, a hint of smile touching his mouth with that full, sensual lower lip.

"I think I'm flattered" he told her quietly "Although I don't take quite so kindly to the idea of being thought of as a double-dealer, like you're suggesting"

This time it was Sakuno's turn to be surprise "What do you mean?"

"Where did you get the idea from? Ann and me? An item?" Fuji faked a stern expression but deep inside; he's happy that he already knew the reason that she had been avoiding him.

"Didn't Kikumaru-senpai say so?" Sakuno murmured shyly under her breathe.

"Do you really believe in what Eiji said back then?" he asked and she nodded, her voice caught in her throat.

He ran his fingers down the length of her flushed cheek and her neck, down to the low-cut neck of the uniform, a touch that shivered through her like fire as she fought with a sudden sense of elation that was quite uncontrollable.

"You little idiot" he said softly as he began to drew her close against him. His mouth just touches hers with that soft, teasing lightness; that she remembered they were supposed to have done it weeks ago.

As soon as his lips left hers, he couldn't help but chuckles upon seeing Sakuno's face flushed as red as tomatoes, considering that to be their first kiss.

"Believe me" this time Fuji smile warmly at her "She's not my girlfriend" he assured honestly.

Upon hearing Fuji's declaration, tears trickling down her cheeks "I was such a fool to think that you were those kinds of people who would manipulates people's feelings"

"And I was such a fool of not realizing the mistakes from the very beginning" Fuji pulled her into a tight embrace and let her cry freely in the warmth of his chest "We've wasted so much time"

"I've always wanted to hold you like this, Shuusuke, but I was afraid to do so…I'm sorry…sorry for causing all the sufferings"

"Hush now" Fuji whispered softly "Just let me hold you like this. How I wish I could hold you like this forever"

* * *

**Present…**

"Papa…" the little girl, who possessed an identical pair of blue colored orbs as his, was running out of the house to greet his return.

"I've lost two teeth" Five years old, Fuji Himeno announced as she proceeded to pull down her lower lip in order to reveal the empty spaces in her mouth to her father.

"Why? What's happening to my little princess's teeth?" gently, Fuji hoisted his daughter into his arms and pecked the girl's rosy cheek.

"The Isha-jichan said Hime had too much X'mas candies" she flashed a broad toothy smile at her father.

"Sou kai?" Fuji chuckles "guess, there'll be no candies for you for the rest of the months"

"Sonna!" the girl pouted "but…it's X'mas time. I promise I'll only have one a day…" she throws him a cute puppy eyes.

"Come on, let's get back into the house first…it's too cold outside here" Fuji flickers her tiny nose to stop her from throwing those cute puppy eyes at him.

"Hai…" her tiny arms twirled around his father forehead before they walk back to the house.

"Tadaima" Fuji announced when they both entered the house.

"Tadaima…" Himeno mimicked his father's words cheerfully at the same time she ruffles her father's goldenrod mane.

"Okaeri nasai, Anata…" Sakuno responded upon hearing the voice of her husband and daughter. They could heard her footsteps approaching them but soon the footsteps died out, replaced with a loud screech followed by some terrible cracking and clanging.

"Oh, oh" Himeno shook her head as she muttered softly under her breathe "Mama…did it again"

"Let's go and check if mama is alright" Fuji said concernedly.

When the reached the dinning area, Fuji was shock to see the mess that his wife had caused in just split second.

"Sakuno…" Fuji quickly put down their daughter and rush over to check out his wife "Daijyobu kai? Are you hurt?"

"Itta…" Sakuno massaged her aching back, but when she heard Fuji's concerning voice she waved both her hands frantically to show that she's alright "I'm fine…hahaha…" Sakuno faked a soft chortle "I'm sorry for messing up the place again…" she apologized with slight culpability.

Fuji shook his head and smile at her "As long as you're unharmed" He gently pulled Sakuno up and kissed her on her lips.

"Anata!" Sakuno blushed furiously as she protested "The children are watching"

"Hime sees nothing" Upon seeing her father kissing her mother, Himeno hide her eyes behind her tiny hands "Papa said if Hime peek, he'll not buy candies for me anymore"

"Err…Hime-chi…that's the agreement between us" Fuji sweat drop "You don't have to tell mama"

"Anata!" Sakuno pouted

"Oh, where's Kou-kun?" Fuji immediately changed the topics.

"I'm here" Kousuke replied "Tousan, there's a phone call for you"

Fuji sensed the softness of his son's voice. He had not heard Kousuke talking to him with such manner for quite sometimes "Arigatou, Kousuke" deciding that he should get some idea from his wife later, he took the phone from his son and smile warmly at him.

"You're welcome" Kousuke replied softly and that was good enough for his father to hear him.

Right after Fuji's done with the phone he smile gaily at his family when he announced "Sakuno, you'll have to prepare more food for tomorrow night since our friends will be coming over for X'mas Eve Dinner"

"Really?" all the three of them said excitingly in unison.

"How many people will be here?"

"All of them"

"Wow! A big party" Himeno throws both her hands up in the air to rejoice "Hime loves party"

**

* * *

X-mas Party…**

**Counting the happiness in the white snow surrounding**

**The place where the bell rings lures you**

**I can't say it when we're alone**

**The small kiss stops time, I still**

**Need your love tonight**

"Merry X'mas! Ho! Ho! Ho!" Fuji who is now disguising as Santa Clause laughed gaily and told his two children to come and to sit on his laps. Well of course, Kousuke didn't obliged. He just blushed furiously when his father was about to hoist him into his arms like what he did to Himeno.

Right after the dinner, the national players gathered around the living hall; some gathered around the bar and some nearby the warmer, looking through pictures of their youthful chronicles.

"Fuji, I heard that Kousuke is doing quite well in the tennis club" Tezuka said as he watched the boy was struggling hard to break away from Momo's bear hug.

"I'm glad to hear that, Tezuka" Fuji nodded with much delight "but he'd told me that he doesn't want to follow my trail"

"He'll definitely be the support pillar of Seigaku" this time Tezuka used a much serious tone "Don't let your guard down when you trained him"

"I know" Fuji smiled "By the way, I know that its quite lonely for you since you're still a bachelor" he continue to tease "Would you like to sit on Santa's laps to tell him your wish?"

"FUJI!" Tezuka's face reddens upon hearing his absurd suggestion.

**I met you while searching for the destined time and together**

**I remember your shadow becoming smaller in the snow home**

"Ne ne, Hime-chi, come to Eiji-jiichan"

"Iyada…Shuu-papa and Kou-niichan told me not to go near you" Himeno timidly shook her head.

"Why? Don't you know that if not for me your daddy and mommy would not get together?"

"…" Fuji heard what Eiji said to Himeno just now. 'No thanks to you, I've almost lost Sakuno' yet he decided to let him say what he wants, since its X'mas time.

**I will give you the winter bell always**

**The snow that collects at the window**

**Brings us together day by day**

**Holding onto now**

"Himeno" Inui approached the little girl with a glass of multi-colored mixture "Did your parents feed you with this drink?"

Himeno stares at Inui and then at the drink "No…is it nice?"

"Of course it is and it's full of nutrition" his grin widens. "It's my X'mas special, with extra strawberries, cucumber, leek, lemon, seaweeds, broccoli, capsicum and extra wasabi too.."

Just when Kousuke spotted that Himeno was about to accept Inui's latest invention, he quickly dash over and stood protectively in front of her and drag her away from Inui. "Hime-chi, didn't we told you not to drink Inui-jiichan's eccentric drinks. It's not good for you, you know?" He grabbed Himeno's hand and bow politely at Inui before they leave "Let's go to Taka-jiichan, he brought lots of sushi for us"

"Hai" Obediently, Himeno followed her brother.

"Eccentric drinks, not good!" Inui quickly took out his electronic data palmtop from his pocket; he began to retrieve Kousuke's data "Fuji Kousuke, 10 years old, Seishun Elementary Grade 6" he marked "I'll remember you and I'll make sure you're gonna have your share later"

**I was being very scared at the passing wind**

**Because you're important I still**

**Need your love tonight**

"Oiishi" The two exclaimed happily "Taka-jiichan's sushi is the best"

"Really…I'm flattered" Kawamura blushed after being complimented by the two kids.

As the two were having sushi, Himeno began to ponder "I wondered if there is really a Santa Clause? Ne, Kaidoh-jiichan, is there a Santa Clause"

"Fushu…" To everyone's surprise, among the player; the girl is typically fond of Kaidoh, despite of his daunting expression. "Er…"

Just when Kaidoh is about to say a word, Inui interjected

"No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen. There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to to 15 of the total - 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of…

"Hime-chi; lets go to join Shuu-papa and Tezuka-jiichan" once again Kousuke drag Himeno away.

**Wanting to believe the time when the light will flash**

**The swaying candle light up this time brightly**

"Ara, Hime-chi?" Fuji hoisted Himeno to sit on his lap once again "So, what is it again, that you wanted from Santa Clause"

"Hime has a confession to make" Hime said softly, while playing with her fingers.

"A confession?" Everyone was attracted by the topic.

"Hime-chi has not been a good girl?" Fuji continued.

"Hime…" the girl hesitated, but soon her mother went over to her to tell to go on. Soon everyone gathered around the Sparkling X'mas Tree"

"Last night…" Hime murmured again

"Last night, I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause, underneath the mistletoe" Hime finally gathered all her courage to say. "She didn't see me creep down the stairs to have a peep"

"WHAT!" All of them bellowed in unison, except Fuji and Sakuno. Fuji kept his usual smiling face whereas Sakuno is blushing furiously.

"Well, guess your mama's must be a good friend of Santa Clause"

"HAHAHA!" Both Eiji and Momo laugh hysterically upon hearing Himeno's confession "Ne, Hime-chi, what else did they do?"

"Eiji, Momo! Not so rude" Oishi protested "Ne…Hime-chan, let Oishi-jiichan get you something to eat"

Himeno shook her head "I'm not done yet. I even saw mama tickle Santa Clause"

"Hm…nice data" Inui record everything into his palmtop 'After marriage love life'

"I guess I'll have to tell daddy about that" she continued "Do you think I should tell Shuu-papa?"

"Of course you should" Fuji replied cheerfully

"By the way, you look very familiar" Himeno said

"Hora…Hime, lets get to bed now, Santa Clause has many presents to be delivered"

"Er…Right" Sakuno carried Himeno from Fuji. Before she exited the hall, she exclaimed out loud "Ah! That's the Santa Clause that mommy kissed last night"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" A roar of laughter could be heard coming out of the cheerful room.

**I was waiting and waiting for the winter bell**

**The snow that falls quietly**

**Is kind to us day and night**

**Holding onto now**

**Winter passes and a new season comes, bringing you along**

**Reach the night sky winter bell**

**At the shining starry sky**

**The sweet star light will grant these feelings**

**On the night that star rains**

**Yes, always**

* * *

As soon as the party ended, Fuji and Sakuno worked together to clean up their house. Right after that the crept into their children's room and place presents into their red socks.

Fuji took out the note from Kousuke's sock

NOTE: TO GET TO KNOW SHUU-PAPA BETTER!

"You'll definitely will, my beloved son" he whispered.

He then put a brand new Prince Tennis Racket, hanging at the side of his red sock. Right after that he proceeds with his daughter's sock. He also found a note. Though it was badly written, but Fuji could well read her words.

NOTE: DEAR SANTA CLAUSE, HIME WANTED LOTS OF CANDY BARS HANGING AT THE SIDE OF MY WINDOW, BUT THAT WAS MY LAST YEAR'S WISH. THIS YEAR HIME WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT…HIME WANTS…

Fuji's eyes widen. He shook his head and places a box of candy bars and some chocolates into her socks.

As soon as he's done, Fuji kissed both his children's forehead and wish them goodnight.

The night has been typically cold and he'd wish that he could quickly return to his warm bed and hug his beloved wife closer to him, feeling her warmth.

When he entered their room, Sakuno is sitting on the couch next to their balcony. When she heard the door closed, she turns and smiled at her husband.

"Anata, thank you for the hard work…" Sakuno went over and pass the present to her husband "and Merry X'mas"

"Merry X'mas" Fuji accepted her gifts and kissed her cheek softly. In return he took out a beautiful box and gives it to Sakuno.

"Anata? This is…"

"I noticed that you've been staring the pendent for quite sometimes, so I figures you would like it" Fuji smiled.

"Oh…this is beautiful! I love you" Sakuno embraced her husband tightly.

"I'm glad that you like it" Fuji said and he also began to unwrap his present. It knitted cotton blouse. "You made this?"

Sakuno nodded "Do you like it?"

Fuji brought the knitted blouse closer to sniff it "It has your fragrance in it. Every knit is filled with love"

"Mou…Anata, please stop teasing me" Sakuno blush again.

"Thank you…" Just when Fuji is about to kiss Sakuno again, she gesture him to take off his Santa's Suit, especially the fake beard.

Fuji took a hot bath before returning back to what they did earlier only to find that the wife is already resting in their bed.

He climbs into the bed; finding that she's wearing her favorite satin sleeping gown with the back exposed. He place soft kisses over her bared back, and immediately she knew that her husband is back to her side, she turns around to greet her husband once again.

"I thought you're already asleep"

"Supposed to be, but you'd tease me right?"

"So, did you say something to Kousuke that day?" Sakuno nodded, as she gently strokes his mane.

"I'm glad that you did. I've finally felt like knowing him once again. Thank you Sakuno"

"It's really up to him to make the final decision" Sakuno whispered softly with another smile.

"So, what about Hime-chi?" Sakuno asked again "Is she asking for more candies?"

"You know we have to at least control her consumption. Although she's not overweight, too many candies could be unhealthy"

"I know" with that he kissed her in full lips at first, and then it preludes to a more passionate one.

"Shuusuke?" Sakuno suddenly felt her husband's heat.

"This is not about massaging isn't it?" she teased.

"As to fulfill our daughter request, we'll have to work hard tonight?"

"…" Sakuno blinked "What request?"

"Himeno said he wants to have someone to play with her" Fuji said playfully and gave his wife another passionate kiss.

"Work hard? But we've only got a few hours time to sleep"

"Oh no" Fuji gently stroked her tights "We've still have a lifetime together, remember?"

"Shuusuke…I love you"

"I love you too…"

**The end…**

* * *

AN: Phew, at last the longest chappie ever! I'm so sorry for the delay, but I know everyone here has a generous heart. It's also X'mas right? Right! My special thanks to Yvie-san and Tsubame-chan for extending their helping hands when I encountered some glitch with this fics. Thanks to Whitelilies for your guidance. Eto…if anyone realize that some dialogue of Himeno sounds very familiar…yes, thanks to my mom, while writing, she played the song 'I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUSE'

**My dedications to: Yvie, Whitelilies, K'onix, Raiy, Angel, jeanelle, tsubame-chan, noomma, darkchaoswolf & Nanthakon**

Thanks for all your encouragement and reviews. Sorry, because of rushing this story before X'mas; I might not be able to reply each and every one of you, but mi-chan is deeply touched when I read so many encouraging reviews. Thanks for the time to read, the patience to wait. Currently I haven't think of any alternate couple yet.

Would you all like to suggest one? Otherwise, I'm planning to write one for YukiSaku and SengokuSaku…

Lastly mi-chan hopes that you all would like this chappie. There could be some discrepancies which mi-chan might not be able to spot, please bear with me, okay.

Merry X'mas and Happy New Year!

mi-chan yori


	3. The thing that made Tezuka smile

Sequel to Why Papa has to be – Tezuka Kunimitsu

Pair: Tezuka/Sakuno

Genre: Humor/Romance

Time frame: Tezuka in university/Sakuno in senior high, TezuSaku futuristic

Warning: Contains spoiler and SUUUUPER OOC, readers have been warned.

Standard Disclaimer Applied: All Tenipuri characters belongs to Konomi-sensei.

Reference: Part of the opening dialogues are taken from the final installment of Tenipuri manga.

"..." denotes "Speech"

'...' denotes 'thoughts'

_'Italics'_ denotes Inui's narration

* * *

Story: Sequel – Why Papa has to be – Tezuka Kunimitsu

**Title: The things that made Tezuka smile.**

* * *

"_It looks like we made it Tezuka…" Fuji said "…as Japan's number one"_

"_Yeah" Tezuka response was unhesitating, and he smiled._

"_I guess this kind of thing to finally make you smile" the tennis genius snickered._

_Tezuka immediately fixed his face and switch back to his usual pokerfaced mode._

"_Fuji, don't tell anyone that you saw anything"_

'_So naïve you are, Tezuka' _

_That was what I thought back then when I finally get to record down Tezuka's unusual expression. Well, that was few years back and now most of us are part of the National tennis team and Tezuka is now our…_

"Good morning, President Tezuka" everyone in the National Tennis team greeted in unison as soon as the team president entered the training ground.

"Good morning everyone" he replied coolly.

And soon all the national players gathered before him.

"Today we'll try out new training programs" he announced briefly.

"Sakuno, please distribute the training schedules to all the players" he continued.

"H…Hai…" with a nod Sakuno immediately did what she was told. Due to her introverted nature and when she had to expose herself in the frontline, to face so many people; her tension increased.

And right after moving few steps forward, she tripped on her own and fell flat on the ground with her face on.

"Sakuno!!" everyone got worried.

"Sakuno!!" The first one to rush over to aid her is none other than the president, Tezuka.

"Are you alright??" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine…" she replied feebly since she has been covering half of her face. Her nose is bleeding and she has to stop the blood from tainting the program sheets.

"How could you simply say something so irresponsible, isn't that your nose is bleeding now?" with that said he starts to tend her wound. He tilted her head towards him and pinched hard on the bridge of her nose with pressure. "Tell me when you feel pain"

"Ouch…" she jerked.

The group watched closely at their president who aided the manager.

Few months ago they heard that the president was secretly giving trainings and guidance to the girl.

Just two months ago, it was finally confirmed that their president is currently dating her.

Many friends as well as teammates have skeptical viewpoints towards their relationship, as they always sees Tezuka as someone who speaks less then 20 sentences a day with his renowned libretto "Don't let your guard down" or "Twenty laps around the field" and someone who always stick up a plain poker face; as for Sakuno who is extremely introverted and who is too shy to carry herself well; they doubted that the couple wouldn't be facing serious problem as it goes on, yet as friends as well as team, there is always a mutual respect in each other's decisions.

A week ago the supposed-to-be-mismatched pair had taken their friends by surprise when they received invitation from the couple on their engagement day.

This world is really full of mystery and chaos. This is what comes into their mind while looking at the lovey dovey couple before them.

"Ouch…" she jerked again.

"Ouch…"

"Cut it out Sakuno, I'm tending your wound right now" with that he pressured her nose harder.

"But you told me to tell you if I'm in pain" she wailed indistinctively.

He held his gaze steadily for a moment, and then smiled; a small, knowing smile that had not only set the girl but also all spectators hearts with anxiety.

'PRESIDENT TEZUKA IS SMILING!!' their eyes widen and blank with disbelief.

"I'm sorry; I'll try to be a bit gentler" he said at last in a small voice.

'HE APOLOGIZED?!'

_Just awhile ago all of us are still believing that the only thing that could make Tezuka smile is to see the national team to achieve world's recognition but now, I would have say, there's something else in this world that could make him smile like that._

"What an honest smile, Mr. President" Fuji complimented teasingly.

"Mou, Fuji-kun; let's leave the couple alone…" Sengoku added as he continues to stare at the couple with dreamy eyes.

_How can I do that, missing a chance of collecting Tezuka's unusual expression? Good thing I've always have my camcorder with me. _

_This would be my second record of 'Things that make Tezuka smile'_

_The end – Inui Sadaharu_

* * *

'So…this are the things that makes papa smile.' the elder twin, ten years old Tezuka Kunihoshi was amazed of what he read 'How I wish I could borrow those videos from Inui-jiichan'

The father had been keeping an eye on his son and wondering could get the attention of his hyperactive son; he's sitting quietly in his own studies. Usually at this time, the little boy would bug his father to have a match with him.

"Hoshi, what are doing now?" the older Tezuka asked.

"Reading…" he replied without facing his father.

Tezuka raised his brow upon receiving a simple reply from his son.

"Reading what?"

"Data from Inui-jiichan, a data on papa." he answered again. This time he swiveled his chair around to face his father before he replies with a toothy smile. "I'm reading this so that I might get to know your weakness and to defeat you in our next match"

Although Hoshi might be regarded by many friends as a lively and adorable kid who is less charismatic and with attitudes which totally contradicted his father's; yet, they also recognized his tennis skills since his kinder age.

His passion for tennis is no less than his father, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"That was unusually diligent of you." the father praised "I hope you'll be able to find out something soon"

With that said, Tezuka leave the boy to continue his research.

"Fiend, you're too naïve; I've already found your weakness!!" Hoshi grinned evilly at last "Just wait and see"

From outside the door, Tezuka could hear the hysterical laughter of his son. Sweat dropped at the side of his forehead. He never recall of himself laughing like that when he was a kid.

* * *

Just few hours before noon, Tezuka was called to attend an urgent meeting. Right after bidding goodbye to her husband, Sakuno resumed back to what she had been planning to do since morning.

"Today I'll bake strawberry shortcake" she declared happily.

While on her way to the kitchen, she found her daughter, the younger twin, Tezuka Kunizuki who is now napping in their living room. Perhaps the weather had drowned her to sleep.

"Onii-chan…let's play tag" the little princess muttered indistinctively in her dream.

Sakuno carefully tiptoed over to cover her daughter with a blanket to prevent her from catching cold.

For a moment she wondered where could Hoshi be. The house is unusually quiet. Usually the brother would just run around the house, teasing his sister, picked on her and make her cry three years worth of tears.

"Well, maybe he's out to pick someone for a match to sharpen his tennis skill" she assumed blithely.

While staying in the kitchen, Sakuno has a feeling of another person's presence and that person is keeping an eye on her but when she turn to look around here, there's no one. She's alone.

Perhaps she is thinking too much. Giving herself a good knock on her head, Sakuno resumed to do her work.

Behind the kitchen door, little Kunihoshi tried to suppress himself from making the slightest noise. He was shocked when his mother suddenly turned around. He had to admit that she has really sharp intuition.

* * *

When Tezuka reached home in the afternoon, he was surprised when Hoshi greeted his arrival at the gate.

"Hoshi? Why are you here?"

"Papa, let's have a match" he announced confidently.

His father regarded him for a moment. It seems to him like the boy had gained more confidence just by reading Inui's data. He'll just have to try him out to see how much he had learned.

"Okay" he replied and with that the two headed straight to the tennis court in the back garden of their house.

Before they start the match, the elder Tezuka provoked his son "Listen Hoshi, if you manage to gain a point from me, I'll recognize you ability"

"That is why today, I'll show you the greatest tactics of all battles!! Attacking the weakness of your enemies" he exclaimed and took out something from his pocket to show to his father.

"Look at these!! Things that will make you lose concentration!!" he said.

"This is mama in swimsuit, mama in high school uniform and this is mama in kimono"

"Side view of mama…" Hoshi continued and showed more pictures of his mother to his father "…and this picture was taken this morning only"

"How was that?" the boy asked cockily and when he heard nothing came out from his father, he assumed that he had finally hit the bull's eyes.

"You, who taught you all these tricks" Tezuka asked, his face twitched and it's beyond recognition. Veins could be seen popping all over his forehead.

Hoshi could instantly felt his father's raging heart, he moved away from him.

"FIFTY LAP AROUND THE COURT!!" Before Hoshi could say a word, Tezuka bellowed angrily when the meter of his rage reached pinnacle.

"WHY?!"

Inside the house Sakuno thought that she'd heard someone's crying dreadfully.

* * *

The next day when Hoshi reached school, the first thing he did was to return all the data books to his coach, Inui Sadaharu.

"Hoshi-kun? Are you okay?? You look tired" Inui asked.

Hoshi refused to speak; he gave a nod as a reply. Of course he is death tired, after being punished by his father to hit fifty laps around the tennis court.

"Is it because my data is too interesting that you spent the whole day reading it" he smirked.

"I won't be reading the data anymore…." he said at last.

"Why?"

With that Hoshi told Inui what happened yesterday.

Immediately Inui's face turns pale. He knew that Tezuka will surely bring up this matter during the next meeting.

"Papa said this kind of act is the worst" While recalling the stern reprimand he had from his father, Hoshi tried to suppress himself from crying.

"And he said that my action is inexcusable"

"Indeed he's right about that. You're directly attacking on his personal predilection. You should have make use of the data which I recorded during his matches with various players. I'm sure you'll be able to find out some hints from the data since you're his son"

"Now papa really hates me"

"That cannot be happening..." Inui patted the little boy's shoulder to perk up his verve "…Tezuka will never hate you"

"Inui-jiichan, it's no use. I won't feel happy even if you tried to make me feel better" despite of those negative thoughts he have in his mind, the boy preferred to remain rational. His determined attitude is inherited from his father.

"I have no intention to make you feel better; I just want you to know your father better"

"I actually wouldn't want to show this picture to you since I knew that your father would be killing me if he finds out later of what I'll be showing you"

With that said Inui took out his mini palmtop, to show Hoshi something which he personally treasured.

"This is papa?" Hoshi eyes widen with disbelief of what he saw "He was so young? And the two babies are…"

"Yes, this picture was taken ten years ago and it was during the day when Sakuno-san gave birth to you and your little sister, Zuki-chan. When the nurses took both of you out from the incubator, you could tell from this picture of how happy he was"

"I've never seen such an expression, so I decided to secretly snap a shot with my phone cam" Inui said amusingly when he recalled Tezuka's expression back then.

"Both you and Zuki-chan are my third record of 'Things that make Tezuka smile'" Inui declared.

"I'd made papa smile" a glimpse of joy is growing within him.

* * *

Meanwhile at Tezuka's residence, the head of the household was resting on his lazy boy chair, looking at the pictures of his wife that Hoshi showed him yesterday.

"Cute…" he commented with the corner of his lips curled upward.

"What is cute?" Sakuno's sudden entrance had given Tezuka a shock but he managed to pull off his tension with a smile before asking his wife to join him.

Sakuno nodded and took the seat next to her husband, the side of their shoulders touching each other, the sides of their sticking close to each other.

"I was looking at the pictures of you"

"My, from where did you get these?" she asked while she scanned through the pictures one at a time.

"From our son" he replied.

"This is so reminiscing" she smiled at him.

"It is" he agreed "It's been twelve years"

"Yes…" the couple is now staring at each other with passions. There is no one in the sitting room and for a moment it has been so quiet that the two could hear nothing but their own heartbeats.

Tezuka reached out a hand lightly touched her cheek with fingertips. His dark brown eyes looked at her for a long moment in silence, then he smiled, that sensual lower lip pursed as he put a hand under her hair at the back of her neck and gently stroke the soft skin.

"And I'm still so much in love with you" he said.

His face pressed to the softness of her neck, his lips planting hot and passionate kisses from there and brought his mouth over to claim hers, parting her lips with the fierceness of his kiss, drawing every ounce of sweetness from her.

Before their intimacy could prelude to a higher peak, Sakuno pulled away to stop her husband when she heard footsteps approaching the main entrance.

Soon their ten year old son pushed open the door and stood infront of the entrance to catch his breathe.

"Hoshi, are you alright?" the mother asked as she walk over to check on him.

"I'm fine!! Compare to all the laps running, this is nothing for me" he said.

"Is that so?" the father asked but he's quite pleased with his son's endurance.

"Father, I'm sorry" he immediately said with his head bow low before the older Tezuka.

"For?"

"I know that I was wrong" he continued "From now onwards I'll see you as my goal. One day, I'll make you recognize my skill and one day, I'll become the pillars of Seigaku Tennis Club and lead the team to become nation's number one"

Upon hearing that the father turn away from his son before he muttered indistinctively "Do as you wish…"

Indeed he's really happy to hear what his son had said. His joy is showing on his face which there's no way he'll let his son sees.

"And one day, I'll make you smile…no, I'll make you fill with excitement that can even make you drool!!"

"What?!"

"I don't want to see papa drool!!" Zuki's angelic voice came out from somewhere in the living room.

And shortly after that, little Zuki crawled out from underneath the kotatsu as she rub her teary eyes.

They assumed that the girl must have been sleeping on the floor again. That was the scariest part of Zuki when she's sleeping; she enjoys kicking and twirling around whenever she sleeps.

And that also explained why she ended up sleeping underneath the kotatsu.

"I don't want to see papa drool…" she wailed again "…papa is my ideal boyfriend. I don't want to see him drool"

"There Zuki-chan, stop crying already…" Hoshi immediately go over to comfort his little sister.

Both Tezuka and Sakuno are so proud of him. They thought that he has finally shows some good examples as an older brother.

"I'll definitely make him drool and you'll help me to snap a shot of papa's face when he drools, okay?"

With that saying, the couple's hopes were like being suck away by an imaginary black hole.

"I DON'T WANT!!"

"STOP BEING A CRYBABY AND DO WHAT I SAY"

"Mou, both of you, stop bickering at each other"

"Both of you, TWENTY LAPS AROUND THE HOUSE!!"

"But papa, we're the one who makes you smile!!"

"THIRTY LAPS!!"

The End.

* * *

AN: Good day my friends. Uuaah Finally!! I've made another sequel of Why Papa. I'm so happy.

As usual, I've always find it difficult when the story it comes to ending the story.

I can't get myself to concentrate or to think of a better way to present it. At the end I guessed I've messed up a good story.

I would like to apologize to all of you who spent time reading and had found it disappointing. And I also apologize for the grammar mistakes and shortcomings.

I really love the original idea of how Konomi-sensei ends the story. And this idea struck me and I'd make use of it as my opening dialogue.

This story is written especially for a friend who constantly encourage me to write another TezuSaku fiction, and to all other friends who have been very supportive and encouraging, and I trust that you all know who you are.

This is also dedicated to many ffdotnet friends who read and review the original installment of Why papa.

I would also like to dedicate this to anyone who likes and adores Sakuno-chan. She's my favorite afterall.

Finally I hope that all of you would enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing them. Good night from me.

Gokigenyo

mi-chan yori


	4. Hugging Sakuno 101 Excuses

Sequel to Why Papa has to be – Fuji Shusuke

Pair: FujiSaku

Genre: Humor

Time frame: FujiSaku High School Time

Scene: Summer Camp Activities

Warning: Very OOC, readers have been warned.

Standard Disclaimer Applied: All Tenipuri characters belongs to Konomi-sensei and credit goes to Wikipedia for providing information on Botan Doro/Tales of Peony Lantern; a famous Japanese Kaidan.

Story: Sequel – Why Papa has to be – Fuji Shusuke

Title: Hugging Sakuno-chan 101 excuses

The night is still and quiet. Moonlight beamed through the paper door, casting shadows across the room.

In this dark room; a group of students gathered around, encircling the glowing candle where a young story teller begins his tale.

_This happened during the first night of Obon. That night, a widowed samurai, Ogiwara Shinnojo saw a beautiful woman and a young girl holding a peony lantern passing by his house. _

_O__giwara is instantly smitten by the beauty of the woman, Otsuyu and vowed an eternal relationship. _

_From that nigh__t onward, the woman and the girl visited him at dusk and always leave before dawn. _

_An elderly__ neighbor of Ogiwara became suspicious with the girl. One night he decided to peek into Ogiwara's house… _

Before the story teller could continue; a strong wind blew across the field; lightly rocking the doors and windows; stirring the anxiety of many youths who were there to test their courage.

The first person who hid his head in the quilt as his body trembles with fear was Kawamura Takashi.

"Fuji; please stop…the night is getting chilly…it's rather scary…"

"That's right; Fuji-senpai…please stops this now…" Momoshiro Takeshi stammered feebly "…Ka…Kawamura-senpai is scared"

"Fushuu…Aren't you the one who are sc…scared?" Being Kaidoh Kaoru, he would never miss a chance to humiliate his eternal rival; even to consider that fact that he's being caught under the same circumstances.

"Shut up, you mamushi…who's scared here…" despite of his untamed shaky legs; Momoshiro managed to get even with Kaidoh.

"Alright; the two of you stops mocking at each other; besides there's no way Taka-san would be scared" with that said Fuji grabbed a racket from underneath his quilt and passed it to Kawamura "…Taka-san, grab on this…"

As soon as he got the racket; Kawamura's attitude changed at 360 degree.

"BURING!! I don't' care if you're Casper or Esper; this Kawamura Takashi-sama will beat you till you'll regret of scaring me!!! Come on!!!"

"Kawamura-senpai; please don't shout like that in the middle of the night; Tezuka-buchou might find us here"

Speaking of which; the regulars had not invited their captain. The strict leader of the team was left sleeping alone in the male's guest room.

"Nyah; we've got to thank Sakuno-chan for accepting us here tonight" Kikumaru Eiji managed to keep his voice down despite of being renowned as the most hyper active players among the team.

"That…that was nothing…" she tried not to sound as if she's totally freak out by Fuji's superb story telling skills. Clenching her quilt tighter to herself; the girl continue to speaks "I'm glad to...know that all of you are having fun"

The timid girl; who had been convinced by one of her seniors; Fuji Shusuke, had generously shared her room out. As what she was told; the objective of tonight's event is to practice one of the traditional events of summer camping; 'TESTING ONE'S COURAGE'

And what she was told was actually an excuse made up by the regulars in order for them to achieve their real intention.

"Fu…Fuji…please continue" the frantic vice captain who sat beside his partner, Oishi Shuichiro asked the genius player to continue the story. He hoped that they could finish this activity soonest as possible and then return to their respective room; in order not to let Tezuka to find out about tonight's event.

"Alright…but…" before Fuji continues, he gesture Sakuno to sit next to me "...Sakuno-chan can sit with me; I'll protect you…"

"I'm…fine…" she blushed. Though the two is official couple; but to be embraced by him in front of the crowd is embarrassing.

"Then; I'll sit next to you, Fuji-senpai" Without having the consent of the genius; Momoshiro stood up and is about to make ways towards his senior.

"Oh; you really wants to sit here; Momoshiro??" Fuji smiled; however his body gives out an ominous aura, which Momo's aura detector could instantly detects the levels of Fuji's rage.

"I guess Sakuno-chan needs to be protected" he immediately change his plan and sit right back to his former seat.

"Ano…Fuji-senpai; is it alright for me to sit there?" she asked shyly.

"Yes…"

"You promise you won't do that weird stuff to me?" she ask again; with her cute puppy eyes stares at him.

"No weird stuff tonight" He assured with a smile.

"Weird stuff??" the others who heard the conversation could not help themselves but started to have the 'you know what' sorts of imaginations.

"Okay…" with that she moved over to sit next to him before he continues.

_So the story continues…_

_When Ogiwara's neighbor peeked into the room; he found that Ogiwara was in bed with a skeleton._

_They believed that he was being haunted. _

_Consulting a __Buddhist__ priest, Ogiwara finds that he is in danger unless he can resist the woman. _

_Placing a protection charm on his house, the woman is unable to enter his house, but calls him from outside. _

"_Ogiwara-sama, Ogiwara-sama"_

_Finally, unable to resist, Ogiwara goes out to greet her, and is lead back to her house, a grave in a temple. _

_In the mornin__g the villagers found…_

"W…what?"

"Found a cat?" Eiji guessed

"A bucket of gold?" Kaidoh comes next.

_Ogiwara's dead body is found en__twined with the woman's SKELETON!!!!_

Right after he finished the last sentence; Fuji blew off the candle.

"ARHHHH!!" Everyone in the room was screaming in terror, with Momoshiro and Kaidoh hugged each other tightly.

Kawamura almost break his racket.

Both Oishi and Kikumaru start to recite prayers.

As for Inui; he stops penning the story and walk towards the door; to switch on the light.

"I think your story telling skill is remarkable, Fuji"

"Thank you…" At this moment Fuji is very pleased. Sakuno is hugging him so tight; their body is so close to each other.

She's so soft and warm.

"This is scary…" Her voice is so adorable when she squealed.

"What are all of you doing here?"

"TEZUKA/BUCHO?" That majestic stern voice startled everyone in the room that they no longer have time to be frightened by the mythical ghost story.

To them; hearing Tezuka's voice is more terrifying than listening to Fuji's ghost story.

Among the regulars; there's only one person who can totally ignore the presents of Tezuka; the person now is too busy to bother what's happening to his teammates.

He now has his little princess to protect. The main objective has been achieved.

"Senpai…please don't let go…" Sakuno pleaded.

"Daijyobu….my dear Sakuno-chan; I won't let go. I'm here for you" he whispered as he gently strokes her hair to comfort her.

The End

AN: Wow, I can't believe I can complete this one shot in a day. I had this idea last summer; when a Japanese friend told me that they were celebrating Bon Odori (laugh). Then we brought up the conversation about their group telling ghost stories.

Then this idea struck me; I told myself to start this as a squeal.

Yeah; another one shot!! I'm so happy.

Hora, I've also drew a fanart on this. Please visit my profile page and find out how Fuji comforted Sakuno-chan.

Finally, this story is made possible because of all friends who supported me. Thank you so much for being here all these times; to be my support and to encourage me. This is a gift from me to you.

Still there will be grammar mistakes and some unavoidable shortcomings, please forgive me for that.

I hope that you'll enjoy reading this as much as I do.

Dewa gokigenyo,

mi-chan yori


	5. Pieces of Love KiriSaku

**AN: Dear friends. First of all, I must thank you for those who read and supported one of my fics "Why Papa has to be" I've also receive many request to write a KiriSaku – Papa version. I must apologize to everyone that to your disappointment, currently I wasn't able to come out with a very good plot to starts with. **

**As to make up with the shortcomings, I would like to present this one-shot KiriSaku love story to show my appreciation towards your supports and benevolence. I'm sure you all know who you are, right? (Giggles) Though this story has nothing to do with 'Why Papa' concept, yet, I've decided to post it here; so all my friends who read this will get this token of appreciation. **

**The story might not turn out to be good; but I hope that all of you would come to like this. I also apologize in advance for all the grammatical errors and other shortcomings. **

**Finally, I hope you'll enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing & your REVIEWS are highly appreciated.**

* * *

Pairing: Kirihara Akaya x Ryuzaki Sakuno

Genre: Romance/Humor/Drama/Futuristic

Timeframe: Future – Kirihara (25), Sakuno (24), High school – Kirihara, sophomore (17), Sakuno, freshman (16)

Chapter: Oneshot

WARNINGS:

(1) SUPER OOC – Please do not continue further if you dislike OOCness

(2) Sakuno centric. Readers had been warned.

Rating: Rated (T) for possible swearing and suggestive mature theme.

Song title: Ai no Kakera (Pieces of love) by Miyuki Hashimoto

Standard Disclaimer: Tenipuri belongs to Konomi sensei

"…" denotes speech

"_Italics"_ denotes flashback

'…' denotes thoughts

**Bold denotes lyrics**

**

* * *

**

Title: Pieces of Love – Angel VS Devil

* * *

Present:

Kirihara Akaya, for the past twenty-five years of his life; had never felt so beaten before.

It took him hours to work off his frustration. He walked, he paced, he raged, he brooded.

"_How dare you do this to her? She had put so much faith in you!!"_

Voices of his lover's grandmother, Ryuzaki Sumirei played through his head as he wandered around in the busy street. He swam through the crowds, weighed down with weariness. His feet never stopped walking.

"_Obaa-chan, no!! Please don't do this to him!!" the poor lady pleaded._

The pair of tired feet finally settled down when he reached his desired destination. He's now standing in front of the door steps of the apartment where he and his twenty-four years old lover, Ryuzaki Sakuno used to stay.

Just when he proceeds to unlock the door, he realized that the door wasn't even locked. Glimpse of hopes burnished within him. Frantically, he entered the apartment, hoping that he would be greeted by her sweet and gentle smile once again.

Yet, it seems like hope had once again failed his expectation. There's no one here, the apartment is emptied.

"She is…gone" he said with a sad smile.

"_Why are you keeping this from me after all these years? Why can't you tell me honestly that the reason behind all your hard works is for the sake of curing Tezuka's arm?"_

"_Akaya-kun…I…" _

"_I don't want listen to you anymore!" _

"_Akaya-kun!! Please believe that there's nothing romantic involved between me and Tezuka-senpai!!" _

"_Then why are you rejecting my proposal?" _

"_There's something I must make sure before I accept your proposal"_

"_There's no need for that. Please leave me alone!"_

"_Akaya-kun…" _

"_Let's break up!" _

The quietness of the room had made him recollect all the good times they had shared. He recalled their first meeting back in eight years ago when he was still a senior high school sophomore.

* * *

Eight years ago:

"Kirihara-senpai" A freshman dashed from behind as his called out his senior's name to have his attention. "The female tennis section is welcoming a new comer today!"

Akaya turned back and stare nonchalantly at the hyper excited junior for a moment before he asked

"So?"

"Oh, you must go and have a look!! Rumors said that she's from Seishun Gakkuen, the granddaughter of their formal coach, Ryuzaki-sensei"

"And?"

"Rumors said that she's Echizen Ryoma's girlfriend!!"

The name of renowned tennis prodigy had finally caught his attention.

"Did you say that she's the girlfriend of that cocky brat?!"

"Yes!!"

"Ryuzaki Sakuno?" faint memories of a typical decent girl with long twin braids projected on his mind.

"I think I know how she might look like. Anyway, let's go and check out on her"

**My heart grows excited and hot  
At such moments, I know it  
So the usual street and scenery  
Are dyed in a different color**

"Girls!! May I have your attentions please?" the captain of Rikkai's tennis club announced firmly "I would like to introduce to all of you a new member, Ryuzaki Sakuno. Although she's only here for a short period, I hope that you all will get along with Sakuno-san"

"I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno. Please show your guidance towards me" with that said Sakuno bowed politely at her newly acquainted teammates.

"Kyah!! She's so cute!!" some players complimented excitingly when they see her.

"Adorable!! Just like a live Japanese doll figurine!!"

"T…Thank you" She said feebly and she was blushing furiously after hearing the crowd's compliments.

For a moment Kirihara was almost smitten by the girl's appearance. The young lady that appeared before the crowd resembles nothing like what he had imagined.

She might not be the most beautiful girl but she has a very charismatic feature with very fair complexion that enhanced her pinkish cheeks.

Her big and round eyes, perky nose and small cherry lips perfectly suit with her poker face that was framed with long Hime-fringed hair style. Her petite frame with a perfect S-Line contour had the characteristics of fragile-beauty type of girls.

"Hey, are you sure that she is Ryuzaki Sakuno?" the ace player asked suspiciously as he grabbed the collars of the junior and hauled towards him.

"Y…yes, didn't they just announce her name earlier?" the junior replied frighteningly.

"Then, she's definitely not the rumored girlfriend of Echizen Ryoma"

"Senpai? How could you be so sure about this?"

"That's because we've met each other before!!" he said exasperatingly at last.

The difference is too obvious that Kirihara refused to believe that the girl who stood before their eyes is the same person as the one he met in the Junior Selection Camp.

Due to the facts that the conversations between the two guys are so loud that it actually attracted the attentions of the crowd before them.

"Look!! It's Kirihara-kun!!" a fan girl jeered with pure joy.

"Ki…Kirihara-san?" Sakuno immediately divert her gaze to the said guy that was standing behind the crowd of girls.

She could instantly recognize him. Aside for him for being taller and his features had somehow matured a little; he's still the same old Kirihara Akaya she used to know.

Her nervousness was instantly cast away as soon as she sighted a face which she used to be acquainted with.

Since today happened to be her first day in Rikkai Dai Fuzoku as an exchange student; she could somehow felt pressured as it's one of the most prestigious schools in Kanagawa Prefecture in Kantou Region.

Moreover; the people in school had been staring at her ever since she first stepped into the school. Their staring makes her feel like as if she is some sorts of an unidentified walking creature that was mobilizing around the school.

She wouldn't want to miss the only opportunity bestowed to her by God's will. She immediately runs towards him.

**The beginning of things is, that's right  
Closer to me than miracles, than destiny**

"Kirihara-san!!" she called out when she's only a few steps away from the ace player.

Stupefied by the unexpected approach of the girl, Kirihara backed a few steps away from her.

"Are you Kirihara Akaya-san?" she asked immediately.

"Y…yeah" still unable to register the happenings, Kirihara replied abruptly.

"Great!! I thought I was wrong!! You're really Kirihara-san!!" her smile widened when she got his confirmation.

"You're so much taller now!!" she commented.

"Don't tell me…you're R…Ryuzaki Sakuno?!" still unable to accept the fact, Kirihara asked the girl in person to get a confirmation of her identity.

"Yes!! I am Ryuzaki Sakuno of Seishun Gakkuen!! Nice to see you again, Kirihara-san"

"Unbelievable!!"

And when the female team captain, Tomoe Sakurai learned that Kirihara and Sakuno used to know each other, she immediately ordered him to be Sakuno's escort.

"And why me?" He raised a brow upon hearing Tomoe's order.

"Because I know that the Male Tennis Club is given three days break starting TODAYYYY to celebrate the victory over the regional tournament. Now don't give me any more excuses, Kiri-chan" Tomoe winked at him. "You should be honored that you're given a chance to escort this beautiful angel next to you"

"Senpai?" Sakuno was totally overwhelmed when Tomoe used the word "Angel" to label her.

"That's nonsense!! All women are demons!!" He scoffed in a snooty way.

"What did you say?!"

Upon sensing the raging aura from Tomoe, Kirihara immediately pulled Sakuno's hand and run away with her.

It seems like they finally managed to escape from Tomoe when he sees that she was no longer pursuing them.

Just when Kirihara thought he could finally heave a sigh just to ease the tension which piled up during the chase, to his dismay, he finally realized that he's been holding the girl's hand and had been pulling her around for the whole process.

He immediately released his grip and turn away from her to hide his blushing face.

"I'm sorry for pulling you around…" he apologized to her with an unusual instinctive voice. "Are you okay?"

It was debatable who was most embarrassed, Sakuno or Kirihara, but while she recovered enough to reply him with a smile.

"I'm fine. When I was in Seigaku, I was always being punished by our club's captain to hit laps" she told him.

The first one who came into his mind was the renowned uncompromising captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"No…no, but because our captain is a big fan of Tezuka-senpai so she eventually followed his ways of teachings"

"Women are scary after all" he concluded in finality.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing"

Indeed it was quite impressive to learn about her strong endurance and that she managed to keep up with his pace.

"So, why don't we find a place to rest first before we hit on a tour?"

For a moment Sakuno was not able to comprehend Kirihara's words.

"Y…you…you…are…are…" she shuddered with her tiny mouth gapped just like a nishikigoi that leaps out of pond.

"Cut it out already!!" with that he give a knock on her head to calm the girl down.

"I'm sorry!!" she shut her eyes tight and bowed at him as she apologized.

"Okay, I said I agree to bring you to tour around the school, but first, you must tell me the reason why you transferred here"

Although Sakuno didn't know why but without hesitating further, she gave a nod to agree with his proposal.

"Mind you!! If I happened to know that you're here to spy on us, you better get yourself prepared to face the consequences!! I'll definitely make you cry ten years worth of tears!!" he threatened.

"H…hai!!"

* * *

It surprised Kirihara when Sakuno told him that she had been transferred to various schools as exchange student before entering Rikkai Dai Fuzoku.

She told him that she's in the process of writing a thesis on body reflexes of athletes. And this thesis would eventually determine her future of whether she will be able to earn a scholarship to enroll to Tokyo University.

"My subject here would be Sakurai-senpai" she declared with determination.

"Huh? And why her?" Kirihara face twitched blatantly as he asked.

"Why not? I've done a lot of research about Sakurai-senpai. She's the most suitable subject. I'm sure you must have known that she's very famous for her great body reflexes"

"Huh?" For a moment Kirihara failed to comprehend the girl. He never did.

Nevertheless, the topic which they discussed awhile ago had somehow stirred up more of his interest towards her.

"I'm sure, other than that female Godzilla; there are tons of outstanding players in our club that would suit you criteria of 'Great Body Reflexes'. Her movements are rusty. Her skill sucks and she couldn't even direct a normal top spin ball" he said with no reservation.

Sakuno sweat dropped upon hearing how Kirihara criticized the ace of Rikkai's female tennis club; yet she decides not to comment anything about it.

The only thing she wants now is to focus on collecting good data for her thesis in order to achieve her initial objective.

"So, how long will you be staying in this school?"

"Three months"

"I see…" with that said Kirihara showed her an unusually gentle smile "…do your best, new student!!"

"Thank you" she smiled back in return.

* * *

**I close my eyes, feel with my heart  
And send my feelings of loving you to you  
If I change the pieces of love into strength  
Then let's open the door together and go to tomorrow**

As days goes by, Sakuno had eventually become very much attached to Rikkai Dai Fuzoku.

Not only has she successfully persuaded Tomoe Sakurai to be her subject but she also gained acquaintances with the seeded players of the renowned tennis club.

Unexpectedly, the one who had grown fondly attached to her is non others than the former partner Inui, the data specialist, Yanagi Renji. He's very much impressed by her notable achievements as well as all those well-written records she had done in the past. Just to sum this up, Yanagi is pretty much obsessed with witty girls.

The girl has also turned out to be quite popular. Everyday she would have to clear tons of love letters from her shoes cabinet. In a week at least two to three guys would go and confessed to her.

However due to her shy nature, Sakuno always face difficulties when it comes to rejecting confessions.

In the end, she had left this matter in the good hands of her first acquainted person in Rikkai Dai; Kirihara to actually helped her to wipe out all these love-struck male students.

All his fellow teammates have come to agree that Kirihara is like some doting fathers being overprotective towards their young daughters.

No one would have actually thought that their feelings towards each other would gradually strengthen.

The situation has become complicated for both of them since then.

Kirihara was restraining himself from showing his affections towards Sakuno. Since day one when she entered Rikkai Dai, he was informed that she is romantically involved with Echizen Ryoma.

Perhaps that's the reason why she rejected all love confessions.

He had been witnessing how down hearted those guys would become after being rejected by her. He vowed that he would never be one of them. It would be too painful for him to bear. He might even spoil what has been, to him, some pleasant and rewarding good times of being alone with her.

Right now, all that he wants is to be next to this enchantress and enjoy the close view of her.

Beside he assumed that the bond between Sakuno and Echizen is too strong to break.

Conversely, Sakuno could also comprehend that she's gradually falling for Kirihara. She wasn't aware of this weird and unfamiliar feelings and she had always thought that it is natural for her to get nervous whenever she's with someone like Kirihara.

It was finally confirmed that the racing of her heartbeat against her ribcage whenever they met and this is due to the undeniable facts that she's in love with him.

Her heart would just skip a beat when he attacks her with those cheerful smiles of his.

Yet to some extend she felt as if Kirihara had hold resentment against the whole female nations. She always heard him criticizing and complaining on all the flaws of women. She assumed that she might not be liked by him either.

**

* * *

**

Unknowingly, my tears overflow  
Every time when I remember you, always  
I feel so painful that I tremble  
But I love you so much

Then it comes a day when God once again bestowed fate to the couple.

"Kirihara-senpai!! Big news!!" the familiar freshman was seen dashing towards Kirihara as he announced.

"Hey, would you stop yelling my name like that?! I find it very annoying!!" he said with a pair of sinister eyes piercing at his junior.

"I…I'm so..rry…" before the junior realized that he's starting to apologize to Kirihara, he cut himself off "WAIT!! Senpai, you must listen to this first!! It's very important!"

His pair of tired feet never stops pacing forward nor had its owner planned to let them rest, not after hearing THAT incident.

"_Echizen Ryoma was being interviewed in the Nine PM Sports news!! He publicly declared that he'll be staying in US for good!!"_

"_So?? Do I need to read any significance into that?" His face twitched into classical Picasso's painting. Hearing Echizen's name makes his blood boils. _

"_Of course you need to. Senpai, aren't you the father of Sakuno-chan?" _

"_Ouch!" With that said, the poor junior earned a hard knock from Kirihara on his forehead._

"_I'm not her father and stop calling her first name with a 'chan' behind?!" he fumed._

"_Fine, but shouldn't we go and check out on her? Saku…I mean, Ryuzaki-san must have watched that interview last night right?"_

"_Sakuno!!" without hesitating any further, he set off to look for the girl._

He's been searching high and low for her. He searched all those places where he thought she could possibly be. There's no sign of her presence.

It took him almost an hour to finally found her walking down the gentle slope nearby their school back compound.

She looks worn out otherwise tear-jerking. He watched as she sat down on the cool turf next to the riverbank.

'She must have watched the interview last night' he assumed inwardly.

And with that he went over to join her, at least he thought he would go and give her broad shoulder sympathy.

"Hey…" he called softly; hoping that he won't startle her.

"Senpai…" she look up at him with that pair of sad teary and yet beautiful coffee orbs.

"Are you okay?" he asked again but this time he looked away from her. Seeing her in such vulnerable state, it might arouse his urge to embrace her into his arms.

She shook her head weakly.

"Do you need to talk?" with that he settled himself next to her.

She gave a nod before she starts to speak.

"You see. I heard an awful news last night…"

'Bingo! She must be talking about that cocky brat, Echizen!!' he thought irritatingly however he kept quiet and let the girl to continue what she have to say.

"You see, I received a call from my grandmother and she said Ee-chan is gone and I'll never get to see him again!!" she hauled herself out and collapsed in a wet and weeping heap.

Kirihara could felt the prick in his heart when he witnessed her devastating state. He went on his knees beside her, he held her. One large hand pressed her tearful face to his chest and he rested his face on the softness of her hair.

"Hush…it's all right, it's all right. Sakuno, don't cry" he hushed.

The words whispered against her ear as he bent his head closer, his breath warm on her neck, his lips brushing the soft skin gently. For several moments Sakuno made no attempt to move but kept her eyes closed and let the tears run from between closed lids.

**I can be strong, I'm sure  
If there are the two of us, if we're together, then I won't be afraid**

"Sakuno?" he held her at arm's length, looking down at her with a small half-smile on hi face and a soft dark glow in his eyes that warmed her even more than his physical presence.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked again and she nodded.

"Good" he heaved an audible sigh after confirming her current state.

"Now, I want you to forget everything about him" he told her.

For a moment Sakuno blinked at him uncertainly, and then shook her head.

"Why?? There's no way I can forget about Ee-chan!"

"Forget about that bastard!! He left you and he broke you heart!!"

"Kirihara-san!! Please don't speak badly of Ee-chan! Leaving us is not what Ee-chan wants. It's beyond his control!!"

'See, women are so complicated!! The moment she was crying all her heart out because he broke her heart and the next moment she could just boldly declare her undying love for him. And here I am, getting so pumped up because of her!!' he brooded. Visible veins could be seen popping at the sides of his temples.

Kirihara raised his eyes to heaven in silent appeal.

"I don't want to know the reasons of his departure!! All I know right now is that he had left you with a broken heart and that pricks me by seeing you crying all your heart out!!" he told her hardheartedly.

"Kirihara-san? I understand that you cared for me, but…" and before she could continue further, Kirihara interrupted her.

"Oh, I don't doubt you understand that." he allowed "And so much for acting like a nerd that goes around the school, searching for you, worrying about you!!"

Sakuno blinked for a moment, a hasty glance at his sweaty shirt confirming the fact that he had indeed went through all the trouble searching for her.

"I'm sorry" she apologized feebly.

"But, Kirihara-san, you were talking like as if you know everything about Ee-chan!! I…I was angry" she said, delaying the moment as long as possible.

He shook his head, his eyes narrowed as he regarded her steadily.

"Who doesn't know about this arrogant guy?"

"ARROGANT GUY?" Sakuno glanced up swiftly, her lips parted as she eyed his serious face to search for any sign that he's trying to make fun of her.

She finally confirmed that the whole conversation is just pure mix-up.

"Isn't that Ee-chan, Echizen Ryoma? Your boyfriend!! The renowned cocky brat who has nerves of steel and he'll stare you down with his san paku gan"

Okay, perhaps Kirihara's description is a little exaggerated but that doesn't stop Sakuno from clearing up the misunderstanding.

"You see; Ee-chan AKA Excellent-chan, was our pet; a proud male Golden Retriever!! My grandmother told me last night that Ee-chan got loosened and was hit by a by passing car and died."

"And…where did you get that piece of information from? Ryoma-kun is never my boyfriend" she muttered tearfully in finality for being reminded of the tragic incident that her beloved pet involved in. "I'll never get to see Ee-chan again"

'There she goes again; attacking me with her tears' he thought pathetically however he doesn't dislike it either.

**Your fingertips touch my cheeks  
It feels ticklish, but that makes me happy  
You gave me the power of love  
Our smiles shine; let's go into the world**

He reached out a hand and just lightly touched her cheek with his fingertips brushing away her tears.

"All right now. Stop crying like a baby" he pulled her towards him to embrace her for the second time.

"Even you might not have Ee-chan or that arrogant brat by your side now; but you still have me." the endearment, spoken so softly in that deep, quiet voice did incredible things to her heartbeat.

"Please…please don't say anything like that. I'll…I'll easily be misled" she said in a soft whispery voice.

"I'm serious" he affirmed and she looked up then, her eyes wide and blank with disbelief, her lips parted as she tried to believe of what he had said.

"Kirihara-san, I…" without giving her time to finish, Kirihara lifted her chin gently with one hand and held it.

She watched as his face slowly inching towards hers, soft breathe caresses her cheeks and before she could comprehend the situation, he pressed his lips against hers.

This time there's no way he's going to let go of her and he's not going to miss this great chance bestowed to him by god of love.

"I love you, Sakuno"

Present:

**I close my eyes, feel with my heart  
And send my feelings of loving you to you  
If I change the pieces of love into strength  
Then let's open the door together and go to tomorrow**

Sleep had been long time pending. Kirihara hadn't tossed and turned so much as lain, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't get himself to sleep. He felt cold; he felt lonesome now that she's gone.

"_Sakuno…are you sure you wanted to do this?" He asked huskily, his pair of gentle green orbs looked deeply into hers "There's no turning back now"_

"_Yes, Akaya-kun…" Pursing her lips gently, she whispered to him, her breathe warmed his neck "…I love you"_

"_I love you too, Sakuno" _

'Why does it have to turn out this way?' He thought pathetically. He still could recall her teary face when she left this apartment with her suitcase.

"_Goodbye, Kirihara-san. Please take care" _

Rage must have blinded his perception and now guiltiness is eating him up. Just today, he finally braced all his courage to ask for her forgiveness and that she would to return to him, yet, he was being cast off by her grandmother.

"_How dare you do this to her? She had put so much faith in you!!"_

"_You'll only continue to hurt her even more" _

"_Please leave" _

After losing her, he finally realized how much she was meant to him. Images of her keep on projecting on his mind.

"_Akaya-kun…" _

"_I love you…" _

"_Don't give up, Akaya-kun…" _

"_Akaya…" _

"Sakuno, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me"

The sun was streaming in bright ribbon over the bed; Kirihara was flat, spread out, and fast asleep.

In dream floating through his mind, he scooped Sakuno into his arm and carried her as they walk down the aisle, with relatives and friends lining at the side, bestowing their blessings on them.

"Finally…" he smirked confidently.

"Finally…" She smiled at him. Her arms lifted, wound around him. Slowly her mouth moved under his, soft as she murmured…

"Akaya-kun…"

"Akaya-kun…Akaya-kun!"

Kirihara came awake with a crash as he carelessly fell from his bed and landed on the floor with a thump on his back. His indecipherable grunt had the lady's giggling as it was the first time she had ever witnessed her lover in such comical situation. Sakuno immediately suppressed her giggles when she thought she's going to expect him to glare at her.

Instead of expecting a glare, she was greeted by his pair of wide and stunned gaze.

"Good morning, Akaya-kun. Breakfast is ready" she said with her usual soft and polite tone "I've made you lovey-dovey breakfast. American ham and egg sandwich, hotdogs and baked beans"

Kirihara immediately make use of the pillow that fell together with him, to cover his stunned expression.

Sakuno took it as if he is still refusing to see her.

"Ano…I guess I'll take my leave now" She tried hard to hold back her tears as she turned towards the door and just when she was about to leave, a pair of strong arms embraced her from behind.

"W…wait…please…please don't go!" he pleaded helplessly.

"I'm so sorry, Sakuno!! I'm so sorry for being harsh on you!! Please believe that back then my perception was blinded by jealousy."

"I miss you, Sakuno. So, please don't leave me!!"

"Akaya-kun…you're a big idiot!!" Kirihara had not expected that Sakuno would suddenly turn around to hug him back. He lost his balance and he fell on his back with Sakuno toppled on top of him.

"Sa…Sakuno?!"

"Mou, Akaya-kun!! You're a meanie!! You promised that no matter what happened, you'll always be with me!! How dare you shun me away just like that?" Right now she is wailing like a baby; two hands pounding against his chest "Meanie, devil, liar!!"

"I'm sorry" he hushed her as he proceeds to wipe away the tears that tainted her beautiful features.

"I'm so happy that you finally came back to me"

"I love you, Sakuno."

"I love you too, Akaya"

"Let's get married" he proposed again.

"Yes" she replied.

"Let's stay together forever, only the two of us!"

"Correction! It's going to be the three of us"

"Huh?"

"I'm pregnant!!"

* * *

For the past three hours the father-to-be was in the state of solidification when she told him about the pregnancy.

His reaction had made Sakuno so worried that she ended up calling some friends to find solutions and they ended up visiting her right after receiving her call.

"Sakuno-chan, how's he doing?" the former captain of Rikkai Dai Tennis club, Yukimura Seiichi delivered his concern towards the couple first thing he met her.

"Yukimura-san, I don't know what had happened!!" she panicked "I told him that I was carrying and the next thing I realized he was already solidified!! Oh my goodness!! What should I do now?" she almost cries her heart out again.

"Oh, that's not a very gentlemanly reaction" Yagyu shook his head.

"I guess he's just having some baby blues" Niou suggested.

"What?! I thought that Sakuno-chan is supposed to be the one who should be having one?!" Jackal mused audibly.

"Yeah, Jackal is right!! He did those perverted things to our cute Sakuno-chan without taking any safety measurements and now she's bearing his child!!" the arrogant volley specialist, Marui Bunta who had been secretly keeping his one-sided love for Sakuno mocked angrily.

"That's why I've always give him some valuable advices on papers which he treated them like trash" Yanagi added.

"No worries, he's absolutely fine!" Sanada assured her "Just let me handle this fool!!"

With that said the former vice captain kicked the poor man on his butt and caused him to fall and hit his face flat on the wall.

"Ouch!! Sanada, you devil!! Are you trying to kill me?" Kirihara instantly regained his conscience and mocked over what his former senior had done to him.

"Hn, serves you right!" Sanada smirked sarcastically.

"Akaya-kun…" Sakuno finally burst into tears when she sees that her lover had finally back to his sense.

"I'm sorry…I guess you're not ready for it. I've been quite skeptical to tell you about...about this whole pregnancy thing…" she wept "…I'm scared that I might lose you forever…"

"Sakuno!! You've got me all wrong!!" Kirihara immediately went over to embrace her tightly as he speaks.

"Hey guys, you've got guests here, remember?" Niou teased.

"Save your teasing for later, Niou. Let's just leave them alone for now" Yukimura smirked as he gestured the rest to leave the couple alone.

"I'm sorry that I'd scared you!! I was just, just too happy to know about this great news…I got panicked and I don't know how to react upon it. I'm sorry…" he confessed in finality.

"You mean…you're not mad at me?" her teary eyes looked at him with pure surprise.

"You silly!!" His kissed her lips softly.

"Why should I be mad when you're carrying my child?" this time Kirihara smiled warmly at her.

Upon hearing what her lover said, more tears escaped from the corner of her eyes

"I was such a fool to think that you didn't actually want to have this baby!!"

"Please don't let me repeat myself again, Sakuno." he stared at her with his pair of his madly-in-love green orbs as he declared to her for the second time "I love you. You're the only woman that I've ever yearn for. I want you to be in my life, forever. Will you marry me, be my wife and give me a chance to be a good husband, a good father?"

"Y…yes, I do, Akaya-kun!! I will marry you!!" with that she seal his lips with hers.

"I love you, Sakuno"

"I love you, Akaya-kun"

"It's Akaya"

THE END

* * *

Edited on 22 Sep 08 as per xrikkai doll's request.

AN: Phew. Finally another one-shot story!! I'm so happy that I've completed this piece with less difficulty. I must admit that the ending is not a satisfactory one, but I somehow felt it should be like this, tabun. I hope that all of you would come to like it.

All dedications go to all my ffnet friends, readers and Sakuno friends.

Good tidings to all and good night.

Mi-chan yori


End file.
